In our laboratory, we focus on physical activity, exercise, sports, nutrition, diet, and lifestyle. By integrating a wide range of knowledge and techniques—from cellular to population-level research—we aim to address diverse challenges related to health and human performance, including the enhancement of physical capacity and athletic performance.
Our current research topics are listed below; however, students are not limited to these areas and are encouraged to pursue their own research interests.
If you are interested in our laboratory, we encourage you to explore our representative publications listed below, as well as other original articles, reviews, and commentaries included in our research achievements.

Representative research topics in Division of Biomedical Engineering for Health and Welfare, Laboratory of Sports and Health Sciences, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering/Department of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Tohoku University

• MOTS-c modulates skeletal muscle function by directly binding and activating CK2. iScience, 27(11):111212, 2024
• Comparison of Bioelectrical Impedance Indices for Skeletal Muscle Mass and Intracellular Water Measurements of Physically Active Young Men and Athletes. Journal of Nutrition, 153(9):2543-2551, 2023
• Estimating thigh skeletal muscle volume using multi-frequency segmental-bioelectrical impedance analysis. Journal of Physiological Anthropology, 40(1):13, 2021
• Association of physical activity with age-related changes in muscle echo intensity in older adults: A 4-year longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Physiology, 125(5):1468-1474, 2018
• Developing and validating an age-independent equation of multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis for estimation of appendicular skeletal muscle mass and establishing sarcopenia cut-off. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(7):809, 2017
• Electrical properties assessed by segmental bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy as biomarkers of age-related loss of skeletal muscle quantity and quality. Journal of Gerontology A Biological Science and Medical Science, 72(9):1180-1186, 2017
• Skeletal muscle quality assessed from echo intensity is associated with muscle strength of middle-aged and elderly persons. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 112(4):1519-1525, 2012
• Extracellular water may mask actual muscle atrophy during aging. Journal of Gerontology A Biological Science and Medical Science, 65A(5):510-516, 2010

• Association between rapid force production by the plantar flexors and balance performance in elderly men and women. AGE (GeroScience), 38(5-6):475-483, 2016
• Relation of leg phase angle from bioelectrical impedance analysis with voluntary and evoked contractile properties of the plantar flexors. Frontiers in Physiology, 14:1292778, 2023
• Can phase angle from bioelectrical impedance analysis associate with neuromuscular properties of the knee extensors? Frontiers in Physiology, 13:965827, 2022
• Membrane capacitance and characteristic frequency are associated with contractile properties of skeletal muscle. Medical Engineering & Physics, 106:103832, 2022
• The extracellular to intracellular water ratio in upper legs is negatively associated with skeletal muscle strength and gait speed in older people. Journal of Gerontology A Biological Science and Medical Science, 72(3):293-298, 2017

• Effects of muscle quantity, muscle quality, and phase angle on whole-body reaction time in 5164 adults aged 20-91 years. European Journal Applied Physiology, 125(1):167-173, 2025
• Body cell mass to fat-free mass ratio and extra-to-intracellular water ratio are related to maximal oxygen uptake. Journal of Gerontology A Biological Science and Medical Science, 78(10):1778-1784, 2023
• Estimating Energy Cost of Body Weight Resistance Exercise Using a Multistage Exercise Test. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 36(5):1290-1296, 2022
• Relationship between Measured Aerobic Capacity and Total Energy Expenditure Obtained by the Doubly Labeled Water Method in Community-Dwelling, Healthy Adults Aged 81-94 Years. Geriatrics, 7(2):48, 2022
• Segmental extracellular and intracellular water distribution and muscle glycogen after 72-h carbohydrate loading using spectroscopic techniques. Journal of Applied Physiology, 121(1):205-11, 2016
• Pitching form determines probabilistic structure of errors in pitch location. Journal of Sports Sciences, 35(21):2142-2147, 2017
• Fall Risk Estimation Based on Co-contraction of Lower Limb During Walking. IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE), :331-332, 2016
• Lower muscle co-contraction in flutter-kicking for competitive swimmers. Human Movement Science, 45(1):40-52, 2016
• The relationship between running velocity and the energy cost of turning during running. PLOS ONE, 9(1):e81850, 2014
• Intracyclic velocity variation and arm coordination for different skilled swimmers in the front crawl. Journal of Human Kinetics, 44:67-74, 2014
• Inter-sport variability of muscle volume distribution identified by segmental bioelectrical impedance analysis in four ball sports. Open Access Journal of Sport Medicine, 4:97-108, 2013
• Does cerebral oxygenation affect cognitive function during exercise?. Ando S*, Kokubu M, Yamada Y, Kimura M, European Journal of Applied Physiology, 111(9):1973-82, 2011
• Skilled basketball players rotate their shoulders more during running while dribbling. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 110:983-94, 2010

• Comprehensive geriatric intervention in communitydwelling older adults: a cluster-randomized controlled trial. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, 11(1):26-37, 2020
• Comprehensive geriatric intervention of home-based self-care using physical activity monitor with and without weekly class-style exercise: Study protocol and progress of a cluster randomized control trial. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 13:1019-1033, 2018
• Prevalence of frailty assessed by Fried and Kihon checklist indices in a prospective cohort study: Design and demographics of the Kyoto-Kameoka longitudinal study.  JAMDA, 18(8):733.e7-e15, 2017

• The bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) international database: aims, scope, and call for data. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 77(12):1143-1150, 2023
• Total daily energy expenditure has declined over the past three decades due to declining basal expenditure, not reduced activity expenditure. Nature Metabolism, 5(4):579-588, 2023
• Human total, basal and activity energy expenditures are independent of ambient environmental temperature. iScience, 25(8):104682, 2022
• Total energy expenditure is repeatable in adults but not associated with short-term changes in body composition. Nature Communication, 13(1):99, 2022
• Daily energy expenditure through the human life course. Science, 373(6556):808-812, 2021

• Predictors of Water Turnover in Older Adults: A Doubly Labeled Water- and Triaxial Accelerometer-Based Study. Journal of Nutrition, 154(6):1750-1757, 2024
• Determinant of factors associated with water requirement measured using the doubly labelled water method among older Japanese adults. Public Health Nutrition, 27(1):e177, 2024
• Variation in human water turnover associated with environmental and lifestyle factors. Science, 378(6622):909-915, 2022

• Step-count outcomes of 13 different activity trackers: Results from laboratory and free-living experiments. Gait & Posture, 98:24-33, 2022
• A standard calculation methodology for human doubly labeled water studies. Cell Reports Medicine, 2(2):100203, 2021
• Energy expenditure and physical activity in COPD by the DLW method and an accelerometer. ERJ Open Research, 7(2):407, 2021
• Validity of the Use of a Triaxial Accelerometer and a Physical Activity Questionnaire for Estimating Total Energy Expenditure and Physical Activity Level among Elderly Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: CLEVER-DM Study. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 76(1):62-72, 2020
• Total energy expenditure is comparable between patients with and without diabetes mellitus: Clinical Evaluation of Energy Requirements in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus (CLEVER-DM) Study. BMJ open Diabetes Research and Care, 7(1):e000648, 2019
• Simultaneous validation of seven physical activity questionnaires used in japanese cohorts for estimating energy expenditure: A doubly labeled water study. Journal of Epidemiology, 28(10):437-442, 2018
• Validity of a triaxial accelerometer and simplified physical activity record in older adults aged 64-96 years: a doubly labeled water study. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 118(10):2133-2146, 2018
• A novel approach for measuring energy expenditure of a single sit-to-stand movement. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 116(5):997-1004, 2016

• Caloric Restriction and Healthy Life Span: Frail phenotype of non-human primates in the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center Caloric Restriction Study. Journal of Gerontology A Biological Science and Medical Science, 73(3):273-278, 2018
• Long-term calorie restriction decreases metabolic cost of movement and prevents decrease of physical activity during aging in the rhesus monkeys. Experimental Gerontology, 48(11):1226-1235, 2013.

• Predictive equation derived from 6,497 doubly labelled water measurements enables the detection of erroneous self-reported energy intake. Nature Food, 6(1):58-71, 2025
• Diet quality and physical or comprehensive frailty among older adults. European Journal of Nutrition, 61(5):2451-2462, 2022
• The Association between Habitual Green Tea Consumption and Comprehensive Frailty as Assessed by Kihon Checklist Indexes among an Older Japanese Population. Nutrients, 13(11):4149, 2021
• Adherence to the food-based Japanese dietary guidelines and prevalence of poor oral health–related quality of life among older Japanese adults in the Kyoto–Kameoka study. British Journal of Nutrition, 128(3):467-476, 2021
• Association between habitual coffee consumption and skeletal muscle mass in middle-aged and older Japanese people. Geriatrics and Gerontology International, 21(10):950-958, 2021
• Physical Activity and/or High Protein Intake Maintains Fat-Free Mass in Older People with Mild Disability; the Fukuoka Island City Study: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients, 11(11):2595, 2019

• Association between Intra- and Extra-Cellular Water Ratio Imbalance and Natriuretic Peptides in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis. Nutrients, 15(5):1274, 2023
• Association of appendicular extracellular-to-intracellular water ratio with age, muscle strength, and physical activity in 8,018 community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 108:104931, 2023

• Regional difference in the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on domain-specific physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleeping time, and step count: An online cross-sectional nationwide survey and an accelerometer-based observational study. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 9:e39992, 2023.
• Dose-Response Relationships between Objectively Measured Daily Steps and Mortality among Frail and Non-frail Older Adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 55(6):1044-1053, 2023
• Phase angle obtained via bioelectrical impedance analysis and objectively measured physical activity or exercise habits. Scientific Reports, 12(1):17274, 2022
• Habitual Light-intensity Physical Activity and ASC Methylation in a Middle-aged Population. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 40(10):670-677, 2019
• Intensity-specific effect of physical activity on urinary levels of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine in middle-aged Japanese. Cancer Science, 107(11):1653-1659, 2016
• Use of a web-based physical activity record system to analyze behavior in a large population. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 17(3):e74, 2015

• Thigh muscle thickness on ultrasonography for diagnosing sarcopenia: The Kyoto-Kameoka study. Geriatrics and Gerontology International, 2025
• BMI trajectory of 8,155,894 Japanese adults from exhaustive health checkup data: the contributions of age-related changes in height and weight. International Journal of Obesity, 2025
• Adequate Protein Intake on Comprehensive Frailty in Older Adults: Kyoto-Kameoka Study. Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, 26:161–168, 2022
• Association between prevalence of frailty and doubly labeled water-calibrated energy intake among community-dwelling older adults. Journal of Gerontology A Biological Science and Medical Sciences, 76(5):876-884, 2021
• Validating muscle mass cutoffs of four international sarcopenia-working groups in Japanese people using DXA and BIA. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, 12(4):1000-1010, 2021
• A U-Shaped Relationship Between the Prevalence of Frailty and Body Mass Index in Community-Dwelling Japanese Older Adults: The Kyoto-Kameoka Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(5):E1367, 2020

• Effects of resistance training intensity on muscle quantity/quality in middle-aged and older people: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, 13(2):894-908, 2022
• Acute effect of multiple sets of fatiguing resistance exercise on muscle thickness, echo intensity, and extracellular-to-intracellular water ratio. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 45:213-219, 2020
• Light rhythmic exercise with dietary milk fat globule membrane improves physical fitness in an elderly japanese population: A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 82(4):677-682, 2018
• Energy deficit required for rapid weight loss in elite collegiate wrestlers. Nutrients, 10(5):E536, 2018
• Effect of the Health Tourism weight loss programme on body composition and health outcomes in healthy and excess-weight adults. British Journal of Nutrition, 119(10):1133-1141, 2018.
• Effects of 12-wk, short-intermittent, low-intensity, slow-jogging on skeletal muscle, fat infiltration and fitness in older adults: randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 117(1):7‐15, 2017
• Influence of the dietary sodium and potassium intake on the heart rate corrected-QT interval in elderly subjects. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, 61(2):138-146, 2015

• Association between Water and Energy Requirements with Physical Activity and Fat-Free Mass in Preschool Children in Japan. Nutrients, 13(11):4169, 2021
• Total energy expenditure of 10- to 12-year-old Japanese children measured using the doubly labeled water method. Nutrition and Metabolism, 14:70, 2017
• Decline in objective physical activity over a 10-year period in a Japanese elementary school. Journal of Physiological Anthropology, 34(1):38, 2015
• Physical activity, energy intake, and obesity prevalence among urban and rural schoolchildren aged 11-12 years in Japan. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 37(6):1189-99, 2012
• Assessment of sites-related differences in fat and muscle thickness in adults with cervical spinal cord injury. Advances in Exercise and Sports Physiology, 13(2):25-30, 2007

• Coping strategy and social support modify the association between perceived stress and C-reactive protein: a longitudinal study of healthy men and women. Stress, 21(3):237-246, 2018
• Sociodemographic and physical predictors of non-participation in community based physical checkup among older neighbors: a nested case-control study from the Kyoto-Kameoka Longitudinal Study. Kyoto-Kameoka study group, BMC Public Health, 18:568, 2018
• Factors associated with non-participation in a face-to-face follow-up survey. Journal of Epidemiology, 25(2):117-125, 2015

• Morning physical activity may be more beneficial for blood lipids than afternoon physical activity in older adults: a cross-sectional study. European Journal Applied Physiology, 124(11):3253-3263, 2024
• Association between disruption of circadian activity rhythms and obesity. Chronobiology International, 40(12):1546-1556, 2023
• Circadian variation of extracellular and intracellular resistance of the leg, arm, and trunk in healthy humans: A segmental bioimpedance spectroscopy study. Biomedical Physics and Engineering Express, 3:65007, 2017
• Effect of exercise timing on elevated postprandial glucose levels. Journal of Applied Physiology, 123(2):278-284, 2017

• Timed Up and Go test, atrophy of medial temporal areas and cognitive functions in community-dwelling older adults with normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment. Experimental Gerontology, 85(1):81-87, 2016
• Association between rapid force production by the plantar flexors and balance performance in elderly men and women. AGE (GeroScience), 38(5-6):475-483, 2016