Health-enhancing Activities Research Articles

Space Prescription: Initiative to Improve Health and Well-being in Tokyo.

This review introduces "space prescribing," an innovative healthcare approach that incorporates the physical environment's role in promoting health beyond traditional clinical settings. Recognizing that individuals spend a significant amount of time outside clinical environments, this approach explores the therapeutic potential of natural and built environments in improving well-being and managing diseases, particularly cardiovascular and mental health conditions.Traditional healthcare models focus on treatments in hospital and clinic settings. However, evidence suggests that environmental factors profoundly influence health outcomes. Space prescribing recommends specific environments that encourage healthier lifestyles and enhance wellbeing. This concept includes social prescribing, in which healthcare professionals direct patients to community-based, non-medical activities such as art classes and sports, acknowledging that well-being transcends biological factors.This review also highlights "Cultural Ecosystem Services" (CES) in health through stress reduction, social connections, and physical activity. For cardiovascular health, elements such as green spaces and urban design are vital for managing conditions, such as hypertension and heart disease. Similarly, the configuration of indoor and outdoor spaces plays a crucial role in mental health. Therapeutic landscapes, including community gardens and culturally enriched urban areas, support mental health recovery, foster community engagement and reduce isolation.In conclusion, space prescribing advocates an integrated approach that considers the physical and social environments as fundamental components of health promotion. This strategy aims to mitigate health disparities and enhance the quality of life, while making health-enhancing activities accessible in urban and rural settings. Through this holistic approach, space prescribing has the potential to transform public health by strategically utilizing environmental designs to support health outcomes.

GREEN TAXONOMY OF THE RUSSIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPLEX: CURRENT STATUS AND DIRECTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT

А comprehensive analysis of the system of measures to stimulate and support the agro-industrial complex was carried out by the author; it was emphasized that such measures should be based (and are already rely to a large extent) on the principles of modern approaches to managing core industries. One of these fundamental principles is the use of the principles of the ESG agenda - green taxonomy strategies and methods. There are the principles and tools of green taxonomy in agriculture considered in detail in this paper, its current directions are presented, including on the basis of a systematic and comprehensive study of vectors of state support, resource conservation of such key components of the environment as air, water and soil. This study is important in understanding the growing global interest in reorienting public support for agriculture to transform agricultural and food systems into health-enhancing activities, Economy and planet, ensuring food safety, compliance with ESG principles. The article states that only an enabling environment with the necessary commitment to consistency of public administration in this area, a new legal framework, additional financial resources and local support structures will support the green transformation of the of the country’s agro-industrial system, which has already begun.
 Background. The agro-industrial complex of the Russian economy has traditionally been at the center of the political and economic agenda in our country for many years. Power and legislative institutions of various levels, including, first of all, the President and the Government of the Russian Federation, as well as the authorities of the subjects of the Federation, pay increased attention to the regulation and support of this sphere. And this is no coincidence because of the stable development issue of the agro-industrial complex is directly related to aspects of national food security – is a key factor in the functioning of the entire macroeconomic complex of the country, the well-being and stability of the population’s life.
 Purpose. The purpose of this work is to identify and analyze the effectiveness of a set of measures taken at the state level to stimulate and develop the “green agenda” of the Russian agro-industrial complex.
 Materials and methods. The legislative and regulatory acts of the Russian Federation, analytical reviews of leading Russian and international communities, Rosstat data, expert opinions of specialists in specific specialized areas, data from periodicals, works of Russian and foreign scientists in the field of agriculture were used during the preparation and writing the article. Analytical and empirical approaches to solving the tasks were used, abstract-logical methods of structuring information, systematic and complex analysis of existing information arrays of data, as well as general scientific logical approaches and methods of study were involved in the course of the research.
 Results. The present study revealed the current prerequisites and proved the existing potential in terms of development priorities tin order achieve the goals of sustainable development by agricultural entities, especially with the full involvement of various levels of governance and sectors of the economy.

The building of complex health-enhancing training sessions with a parallel solving of tasks

In order to increase the effectiveness of health-enhancing activities experts along with other factors point to the need for a rational building of various structural elements of the training, namely: training sessions, micro-, meso-, and macrocycles. The previous analysis the practical work of specialists in the field of health-enhancing activities shows that their main attention is directed to the study of the peculiarities of building complex training sessions with a successive solving of tasks. At the same time, complex training with parallel solving of tasks, for the most part, remains outside their attention.
 The purpose of the article, research methods. The purpose of the study is to expand the theory of building of the complex training sessions with parallel solving of tasks.
 Objectives of the study:
 
 To analyze the theoretical approaches of building health-enhancing training
 To develop general approaches to the building of health-enhancing training sessions with parallel solving of
 
 Theoretical research methods such as: analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, systematization were applied analyzing of the literature.
 As a result of the analysis of literature it was find out:
 
 The systematization inherent in the practice of sports is not applied in the theory of health-enhancing physical culture while planning a training sessions. Such systematization involves the division into selective training sessions and complex training sessions with successive and parallel solving of Although practical planning take place within these frameworks.
 
 As a result of the analysis of literature it was find out:
 
 The building of the complex training sessions with successive solving of tasks are more researched in the theory of the health-enhancing physical culture;
 Health-enhancing training sessions with parallel solving of tasks can be based on the use of both exercises - with wide impact (dance movements, health-improving forms of martial arts, fitball, ) and exercises with limited impact (locomotion, strength exercises, gymnastic and flexibility exercises) with certain features methods of their application.

Antioxidant and skin health-enhancing activities of wild indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) root extracts

This study aimed to investigate the effects of wild indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) root extract as a functional food material, in terms of antioxidant and skin health-related activities. Both water and ethanol (50/50, v/v) extracts showed high phenol content. They were evaluated for antioxidant activity, such as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), antioxidant protection factor (PF), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). While the DPPH radical scavenging activities of water and ethanol extracts were 84.23% and 89.30%, respectively, at 200 μg/mL total phenol content (TPC), the ABTS radical cation scavenging activities were 51.39% and 48.10%, respectively. The water and ethanol extracts also showed desirable antioxidant PF levels of 1.18 and 1.16, respectively. Furthermore, the antioxidant effects on TBARS significantly increased by 37.31% and 51.43%, respectively, in 200 μg/mL of water and ethanol extracts. Both the extracts showed high dose-dependent collagenase inhibitory activities, up to 27.60% and 77.39%, respectively. The ethanol extract showed an elastase inhibitory activity of 37.21%; the tyrosinase inhibitory effect (which facilitates natural skin-whitening) was 59.26% at 200 μg/mL TPC. The hyaluronidase activity inhibition, related to anti-inflammatory activity, was 20.02% for the water extract and 14.30% for the ethanol extract, at 200 μg/mL TPC. Therefore, B. tinctoria extract has potential applications in cosmetics and food supplements due to its antioxidant and skin health promoting activities.

Advancement in Physical Education Teaching Using Improved Energy Efficient Scalable Routing Algorithm-Based Wireless Network

Physical education (PE) is a crucial topic in higher coaching that individually points motor abilities in health-enhancing activities. Conventional PE in institutions struggles to pique graduates’ attentiveness in sports, proceeding in low task involvements rates, and incapacity to exercise the body. Innovative teaching concepts and methodologies, coaching techniques and procedures, and coaching assessment techniques in physical education are all accompanied to developing the physical education study hall climate and successfully boosting physical education efficacy. Each element of regular living, especially education, is being influenced by wireless internet innovations. We will provide extra help to students by predicting academic endurance or dropout. We can improve the wireless platform’s potential utility in sports applications and change the character of PE, including visualization and repetition by incorporating it into PE teaching. Based on the concept of wireless network technology, this paper proposes an Improved Energy Efficient Scalable Routing Algorithm (IEESRA) for physical education advancement. Initially, the physical education dataset is preprocessed using normalization. The aspects are removed using the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) method. The data is transferred using a wireless network using Improved Energy Efficient Scalable Routing Algorithm (IEESRA). The classification is done using random forest (RF) classifier. The results of the analysis reveal that wireless network-based PE may increase graduates’ strength, speed, and qualities providing a more important reference and reference for enhancing the success of PE. The proposed strategy has the potential to enhance actual attention to PE teaching to 90% with raising students’ engagement to 70%.

Health and wellbeing outcomes and social prescribing pathways in community-based support for autistic adults: A systematic mapping review of reviews.

Adults on the autism spectrum are affected by health disparities which significantly reduce life expectancy and experience barriers to accessing healthcare. Social prescribing is a holistic approach that diverts patients from primary care to health-enhancing activities in communities. However, there has been a lack of research attention to how autistic people navigate the social prescribing pathway and the ability of these approaches to address existing disparities. This mapping review aimed to synthesise features of non-medical, community-based interventions for autistic adults to assess their suitability for a social prescribing approach. A systematic search and screening process was used to identify literature reviews from medical databases (Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Cochrane reviews) and grey literature. We extracted data from 24 reviews and 19 studies including types of services, participants, outcomes, settings and procedures. A narrative and visual synthesis is used to map the variety of services and interventions identified, the outcome measures used, and the barriers and facilitators to progression through services in relation to a realist social prescribing framework. The review found that there has been minimal evaluation of holistic, low intensity services for autistic adults, such as those offered in social prescribing approaches. Outcome measures remain focused on features of autism and reveal less about the effects of interventions on health and wellbeing. Aspects of the social prescribing model were identified in the features of service pathways, but findings also suggested how social prescribing could be adapted to improve accessibility for autistic people.

Do adults with non-communicable diseases meet the German physical activity recommendations?

IntroductionThe numerous health benefits of physical activity (PA) for people with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are well-documented. In Germany, there are limited data on whether adults with NCDs fulfill health-oriented PA recommendations. This study describes the prevalence of meeting PA recommendations among adults with select NCDs.MethodBased on the national representative GEDA-2014/2015-EHIS (N = 24,016), the self-reported PA data of the European Health Interview Survey–Physical Activity Questionnaire (EHIS-PAQ) were classified with respect to fulfilling recommendations for health-enhancing aerobic activities (≥ 150 min per week with at least moderate intensity) and muscle strengthening (≥ 2 times per week). These binary indicators were used to analyze the association between the prevalence of sufficient PA and the self-reported presence of certain NCDs and multiple NCDs to reflect multimorbidity.ResultsCompared to the general adult population, sufficient aerobic PA was lower for most NCDs, with the lowest level among people with diabetes mellitus, obesity, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and depression. Compared to the general adult population, sufficient muscle strengthening was lower for some NCDs (diabetes mellitus, obesity, depression), but it was higher in people with musculoskeletal diseases (osteoarthritis, lower back pain). Multimorbidity was negatively associated with sufficient PA levels.ConclusionThe study specifies the need to promote PA among adults with select NCDs to counteract insufficient levels of health-enhancing PA and to reduce the individual and societal burden of NCDs.

Polityka zdrowia publicznego opartego na dowodach i pandemia COVID-19

Evidence based public health policy and the COVID-19 pandemic Public health has always sought to use scientific findings in health-enhancing activities. At the end of the twentieth century, a program to use scientifically validated evidence in public health – evidence based public health (EBPH) – was formulated. Rigorous application of evidence was supposed to guarantee effective and efficient interventions. When the global threats of Covid 19 pandemic appeared, it seemed to be a great opportunity for EBPH to reaffirm its value. Societies, as well as governments, could have hoped that scientifically equipped public health would be able to cope well with the threat. However, reality has brought disappointment. It turned out that public health does not have enough confirmed evidence to support policymakers. In many situations, both politicians and medical doctors had to make quick and inevitably intuitive decisions, without documented evidence. The pandemic has forced the need to search for evidence more quickly, but it has raised the question of whether the procedure for validating evidence must be as rigorous as it had been recommended in the past. Under pressure emerging needs, a number of evidence-based recommendations have been prepared and offered to decisionmakers to be used.

Increasing levels of extracurricular physical activity in higher school students

The paper examines approaches to increasing levels of leisure time physical activity in higher school students. The following methods were used: theoretical analysis of special scientific and methodological literature and documentary materials; comparison and matching (comparative method); sociological techniques (surveying was conducted using Google Forms); pedagogical methods; methods for assessing physical activity; and the methods of mathematical statistics. The study was carried out at the National technical university of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”. The study involved first and second year students (in total 80 students). The degree of involvement of students in health-enhancing extracurricular activities was determined and the attitude of students to extracurricular forms of organization of physical education classes was assessed according to the following criteria: content of classes; the effectiveness of extracurricular physical education classes; level of logistics; regularity of extracurricular physical education classes; availability of extracurricular activities for different categories of students; compliance of classes with the interests and preferences of students; use of innovative types of physical activity during classes; qualification of research and teaching staff who conduct physical education classes; the quality of theoretical training provided by research and teaching staff during extracurricular time. The main shortcomings of the organizational support for extracurricular physical education classes were identified: insufficient efficiency of extracurricular activities; ignoring innovative approaches to the organization of classes, popular types of physical activity, a wide arsenal of tools and methods of physical education, and modern fitness technologies, which have repeatedly proven their effectiveness in extracurricular activities; and lack of classes during winter and summer vacations, as well as during exam sessions. For most students, physical activity is not a priority. The reasons that prevent students from participating in physical activities and sports were identified as follows: lack of conditions; features of the emotional and volitional sphere of personality (inability to overcome laziness and passivity); lack of theoretical knowledge on designing health-enhancing activities; lack of company; inappropriate health condition; and lack of external incentives.

Modern approaches to the use of fitness-technologies as a means of managing adolescents’ physical condition

The steady increase in the number of students with health problems underlines the relevance of research on the scientific substantiation of safe and effective parameters of fitness-classes for adolescents. The paper presents an analysis of the benefits of using fitness-technologies for managing physical condition in middle- school children. The aim of the work was to study and generalize modern approaches to the use of health-enhancing fitness- technologies in the management of adolescent girls’ physical condition. Methods: theoretical analysis of special scientific and methodological literature, generalization and systematization of the data, comparative analysis, abstraction and logical-theoretical analysis, sociological methods, methods of assessment of physical health status (the Apanasenko method), and the methods of mathematical statistics. Results of the study. The analysis of the literature data showed that the use of health-enhancing exercise for managing physical condition is a priority area of research both in the world and in Ukraine. These approaches are consistent with adolescent girls’ motivational preferences in the choice of physical activities. It was found that 78% of the surveyed schoolgirls do not participate in health-enhancing exercise activities. However, 39.9% of girls want to engage in health-enhancing exercise activities, 36% want to participate in activities with elements of sports games, and 17.2% in health-enhancing swimming. Most girls chose group classes (72%). Among the surveyed adolescents, only 20% had the moderate level of physical health, 80% had the low or lower-than-moderate level; there were no school girls with higher-than-moderate or high level of health. A significant percentage of girls (16%) who are underweight have been identified. A number of developments related to improving the level of physical condition have been reported in the literature, but in most cases they are designed for people with normal weight or overweight. However, weight deficit, which can have significant negative consequences, is especially dangerous for the adolescents’ health. Conclusions. The health-enhancing exercise programs for underweight adolescent girls were found to be insufficiently substantiated. Considering the high prevalence and negative consequences of insufficient body weight for adolescent girls, the studies focused on improving the level of physical condition and body weight in this population through the use of the means of health-enhancing exercise are seemed relevant.

Trends of Alcohol Use, Dietary Behaviour, Interpersonal Violence, Mental Health, Oral and Hand Hygiene Behaviour among Adolescents in Lebanon: Cross-Sectional National School Surveys from 2005, 2011 and 2017.

Health risk behaviours during adolescence can have long-term negative consequences. Little is known, however, about the recent health risk behaviour trends in adolescents in Lebanon. This investigation aimed to report the trends in the prevalence of various health risk behaviours, such as alcohol use, dietary behaviour, interpersonal violence, mental health, oral and hand hygiene, among adolescents in Lebanon. Cross-sectional nationally representative data were analysed from 13,109 adolescents (14 years median age) that participated in three waves (2005, 2011 and 2017) of the “Lebanon Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS)”. Results indicate that significant improvements were found among both boys and girls in the decline in interpersonal violence (bulling victimization, being physically attack and involvement in physical fighting), poor washing of hands after using the toilet, and suicide planning, and among girls only loneliness, worry-induced sleep disturbance and suicidal ideation. Significant increases were found among both boys and girls in the prevalence of inadequate fruit consumption, and among boys only unintentional injury and not always washing hands before eating. In conclusion, several decreases but also increases in health risk behaviours were found over three assessment points during a period of 12 years calling for continued health enhancing activities in this adolescent population.

Model of organizational and methodological framework of health-enhancing and recreational activities for preschool children in a football club environment

The article addresses the urgent problem of improving the organizational and methodological framework of health-enhancing and recreational activities for older preschool children in children's football clubs aiming at strengthening the health of this population and increasing their involvement in regular physical activity. Objective. To substantiate the model of organizational and methodological framework of health-enhancing and recreational activities for preschool children in a football club environment. Research methods. The following methods were used in the study: theoretical analysis of special scientific and methodological literature and documentary materials, pedagogical and sociological methods, modelling, and methods of mathematical statistics. Results. The model of organizational and methodological framework for health-enhancing and recreational activities of older preschool children in a children's football club environment was theoretically substantiated and developed. The model included organizational, diagnostic, methodological, and control units, as well as the technological and methodological conditions for its implementation to improve safety and the effectiveness of classes for preschool children. The program of health-enhancing and recreational activities involving football skills training, which was a component of the developed model, was substantiated, developed, and implemented. Information and educational components of the model were also developed to increase the level of awareness of parents on health issues. Special training was conducted for children's coaches to increase the level of knowledge on the safety of classes and on the use of health-enhancing and recreational physical activity during classes for older preschoolers. Conclusion. The study has identified the ways to modernization of organizational and methodological framework of health-enhancing and recreational activities for older preschoolers in a football club environment.

Social Integration of Hearing-Impaired Students by Means of Health-Enhancing and Recreational Activities

Purpose: To substantiate and develop a program of health-enhancing and recreational physical activity for the social integration of students with hearing impairments in a higher education institution environment.
 Materials and Methods. The study involved 65 students with hearing impairments 17–18 years of age (30 males and 35 females). Theoretical analysis and generalization of special scientific and methodological literature, pedagogical experiment, anthropometric measurements of the hearing-impaired, Apanasenko’s method, methods of mathematical statistics were used.
 Results. The structure and content of the program of health-enhancing and recreational physical activity for students with hearing impairments were scientifically substantiated and developed. The program takes into account the factors, principles, objectives, tasks, methods, organizational and socio-pedagogical conditions for its effective implementation in higher education institutions. The program includes a system for monitoring the results of its implementation and performance criteria. The effectiveness criteria for the health-enhancing and recreational physical activity program were identified as follows: social integration of hearing-impaired students, restoring their psycho-emotional state, and involvement of the young people in regular physical activity.
 Conclusions. The results of the study confirmed the effectiveness of the developed program of health-enhancing and recreational physical activity in a higher education institution for the social integration of hearing-impaired students.

HEALTHCARE ACCESS AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT OF OLDER MINORITY ADULTS: EXPERIENCES NAVIGATING TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS

Transportation is vital in the daily lives of older adults and provides access to health care services and health enhancing activities, such as social engagement. Disparities in mobility exist for older African American and Hispanic adults compared to non-Hispanic Whites, including higher likelihood of driving cessation at an earlier age and having a higher risk for reduced life space. This poster presents findings from a qualitative analysis of data from the Using Geo-Ethnography to Explore the Spatial Accessibility of Health Services for Aging Minorities Study (GeoSAS), a mixed methods study of older minority adults in Houston, TX. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis, the transcripts of semistructured interviews with 23 older adults (13 African American and 10 Hispanic; 17 female; mean age = 71.3 yrs, SD = 6.3 years) were analyzed to address the research question: What are the mobility experiences and perceptions of minority older adults regarding healthcare access and social engagement? Based on an ecological systems theoretical framework, we found reciprocal influences of (1) healthcare systems and transportation utilization and (2) participants’ health and well-being, mobility, and social engagement. Support from family members and financial capacity were critical for participants’ mobility. Implications of this research include educating health care providers about patients’ transportation experiences and barriers, optimizing social support to increase mobility, and addressing systematic disparities in transportation access to enhance health and well-being for older minority adults.

PH Professional Network: “Just Do It”: Practical Aspects of Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programs

PH Professional Network: “Just Do It”: Practical Aspects of Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programs

Utility of the Youth Compendium of Physical Activities

ABSTRACTPurpose: The purposes of this article are to: (a) describe the rationale and development of the Youth Compendium of Physical Activities (Youth Compendium); and (b) discuss the utility of the Youth Compendium for audiences in research, education, community, health care, public health, and the private sector. Methods: The Youth Compendium provides a list of 196 physical activities (PA) categorized by activity types, specific activities, and metabolic costs (youth metabolic equivalents of task [METy]) as measured by indirect calorimetry. The utility of the Youth Compendium was assessed by describing ways in which it can be used by a variety of audiences. Results: Researchers can use METy values to estimate PA levels and determine changes in PA in intervention studies. Educators can ask students to complete PA records to determine time spent in physical activities and to identify health-enhancing activities for classroom PA breaks. Community leaders, parents, and health care professionals can identify activity types that promote healthful behaviors. Public health agencies can use the METy values for surveillance and as a resource to inform progress toward meeting national physical activity guidelines. Applications for the private sector include the use of METy in PA trackers and other applications. Conclusion: The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research Web site presents the Youth Compendium and related materials to facilitate measurement of the energy cost of nearly 200 physical activities in children and youth. The Youth Compendium provides a way to standardize energy costs in children and youth and has application for a wide variety of audiences.

Assessment of the effects of sulfated polysaccharides extracted from the red seaweed Irish moss Chondrus crispus on the immune-stimulant activity in mussels Mytilus spp.

Seaweeds contain a number of health enhancing and antimicrobial bioactive compounds including sulfated polysaccharides (SP). In the present study, SP extracted from a European red seaweed Irish moss Chondrus crispus was chemically analyzed, SP content extracted and the immune-response effect on wild Irish mussels Mytilus spp. investigated for the first time. A high percent yield of SP was extracted from C. crispus and the immune-stimulant activity of SP was assessed in a laboratory trial with mussels exposed to three different treatments of low (10 μg mL−1), medium (20 μg mL−1) and high (50 μg mL−1) SP dose concentrations and a control mussel group with no exposure to SP. An initial mussel sample was processed prior to the trial commencing and mussels were subsequently sampled on Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 10 post SP exposure. Both cell, humoral and immune related gene responses including haemocyte cell viability, haemocyte counts, lysozyme activity and expression of immune related genes (defensin, mytimycin and lysozyme mRNA) were assessed. No mussel mortalities were observed in either the treated or non-treated groups. Mussels exposed with SP showed an increase in haemocyte cell viability and the total number of haemocytes compared to control mussels. Lysozyme activity was also higher in treated mussels. Additionally, up-regulated expression of defensin, mytimycin and lysozyme mRNA was observed in SP treated mussels shortly after exposure (on Days 1, 2, and 3) to SP. These results indicate that a high quality yield of SP can be readily extracted from C. crispus and more importantly based on the animal model used in this study, SP extracted from C. crispus can rapidly induce health enhancing activities in Mytilus spp. at a cellular, humoral and molecular level and with a prolonged effect up to ten days post treatment.

Exploring the effects of integrating the iPad to improve students’ motivation and badminton skills: a WISER model for physical education

ABSTRACTPhysical education (PE) is an important subject in higher education that specifically targets motor skills in health-enhancing activities. This study aimed to explore how mobile technology could be integrated into a badminton course to enhance learners’ motivation and badminton skills. The experiment was conducted in the university badminton course and a total of 225 college students were involved in this study. The participants were divided into two groups, one who would use technology, the Tablet Course Group (TCG), and the other, the Conventional Course Group (CCG), where conventional face-to-face methods were used. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were adopted in this study. The results indicate that learning motivation and performance in badminton skills in the TCG were significantly better than those in the CCG. The operation of iPads enabled students to change their holistic views of badminton skill learning and achieve the desired skills at their own pace, and afforded immediate visual feedback on skill learning.

Health capital investment and time spent on health-related activities

One key component in the health capital investment model in (Grossman, M. Journal of Political Economy, 80: 223–255, 1972) is time spent on improving health. However, few empirical studies have examined how time spent on health investment is determined. In this paper, we fill this void in the literature by investigating how people allocate their time for different types of health-related activities in response to economic variables. Using the American Time Use Survey, we distinguish health-enhancing and health-deteriorating leisure activities, with the rationale that these activities may respond differently to socioeconomic environment. We find that health-enhancing and health-deteriorating time respond to economic variables in opposite directions. Specifically, a higher wage rate leads to a reduction in health-deteriorating activities but an increase in health-enhancing activities, particularly those with an investment nature. This finding holds for most subsamples we examine. Our result implies substantial substitution within nonmarket time.

The worldwide trend of using botanical drugs and strategies for developing global drugs.

Natural product drugs, or botanical drugs, are drugs composed of natural substances which have constituents with health-enhancing or medicinal activities. In Korea, government-led projects brought attention to botanical drugs invigorating domestic botanical drug industry. Foreign markets, as well, are growing bigger as the significance of botanical drugs stood out. To follow along with the tendency, Korea puts a lot of effort on developing botanical drugs suitable for global market. However, standards for approving drug sales vary by countries. And also, thorough standardization, certification, clinical studies and data of these will be required as well as data confirming safety and effectiveness. Meanwhile, as an international exchange in botanical drug market continues, the importance of plant resources was emphasized. Thus countries’ ownership of domestic natural resources became vital. Not only establishing a systematic method to secure domestic plant resources, but also cooperation with other countries on sharing natural resources is essential to procure natural resources effectively. Korea started to show visible results with botanical drugs, and asthma/COPD treatment made out of speedwell is one example. Sufficient investment and government’s active support for basic infrastructure for global botanical drugs will bring Korea to much higher level of botanical drug development.