“Female Athletes Health Support Seminar 2020” Event Report
Focusing on the keyword “LBM; Lean Body Mass” which is important to female athletes, “Female Athletes Health Support Seminar 2020” was held.
Voices of concern are increasing in the field of sport in Japan regarding female athletes who experience “energy shortage” which is a state where bodyweight does not increase according to their growth. From now on, the awareness to “increase LBM” rather than to reduce body fat is required. Therefore, the Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport proposes condition management by height and LBM.
In this seminar, experts of “exercise”, “sleep”, and “nutrition”, which are very important for female athletes, were invited and a keynote speech was given by Dr. Takao Matsuda who derived the fact that “Increasing LBM will increase height” from his research. Moreover, discussions were held to exchange the different methods to utilizing LBM to lead female athletes to become top athletes.
Voices of concern are increasing in the field of sport in Japan regarding female athletes who experience “energy shortage” which is a state where bodyweight does not increase according to their growth. From now on, the awareness to “increase LBM” rather than to reduce body fat is required. Therefore, the Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport proposes condition management by height and LBM.
In this seminar, experts of “exercise”, “sleep”, and “nutrition”, which are very important for female athletes, were invited and a keynote speech was given by Dr. Takao Matsuda who derived the fact that “Increasing LBM will increase height” from his research. Moreover, discussions were held to exchange the different methods to utilizing LBM to lead female athletes to become top athletes.
*This seminar was held as a project entrusted by the Japan Sports Agency ” Development and Support Project for Female Athletes” (entrusted assignment)
【Program】
＜Keynote Speech＞
「Increasing LBM will increase height!」
Dr. Takao Matsuda (Director of Nishibeppu National Hospital Sports Medicine Center)
＜Introduction of Growth Support Application＞
「”Surari Muscle” Application ～Increase your LBM and increase your height!～」
＜Mini Session＞
「Examples from female volleyball players」
「Managing Top Athletes by Controlling LBM」
Panelists：Ms. Akina Shibata, Dr. Ayako Inoshita, Ms. Shihoko Suzuki
Coordinator：
Ms. Natsue Koikawa (Deputy Director of the Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport / Professor at Juntendo University Faculty of Health and Sports Science)
＜Keynote Speech＞
「Increasing LBM will increase height!」
Dr. Takao Matsuda (Director of Nishibeppu National Hospital Sports Medicine Center)
＜Introduction of Growth Support Application＞
「”Surari Muscle” Application ～Increase your LBM and increase your height!～」
Ms. Akiko Sekiguchi (Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport)
＜Mini Session＞
「Examples from female volleyball players」
Ms. Akina Shibata (Strength coach of Japan women’s volleyball national team)
「Athlete and Sleep」 Dr. Ayako Inoshita (Associate Professor at Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine)
「Managing performance with nutrition」 Ms. Shihoko Suzuki (Professor at Kanagawa University of Human Services Faculty of Health and Social Services, Certified Sports Nutritionist)
＜Panel Discussion＞「Managing Top Athletes by Controlling LBM」
Panelists：Ms. Akina Shibata, Dr. Ayako Inoshita, Ms. Shihoko Suzuki
Coordinator：
Ms. Natsue Koikawa (Deputy Director of the Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport / Professor at Juntendo University Faculty of Health and Sports Science)
Keynote Speech
Gynecologist and a sports doctor certified by the Japan Sport Association who supports various athletes, Dr, Takao Matsuda gave a keynote speech on “Increasing LBM will increase height!”. Based on the knowledge gained from many years of his research and experience, Dr. Matsuda, as a co-developer of “Surari Muscle” application which was developed based on research evidence, defined growth spurts and growth peaks which are two important factors for athletes in their period of growth and also explained the risks of not having a growth peak. Moreover, he further explained that the world standard to calculate body mass index (BMI) of athletes is “LBM”, and pointed out that athletes should manage their condition by shifting from weight control to LBM control so that athletes will not face the “Female Athlete Triad; FAT”.
Dr. Takao Matsuda
(Director of the Nishibebbu National Hospital Sports Medicine Center)
(Director of the Nishibebbu National Hospital Sports Medicine Center)
During the question and answer session, questions were also raised
by men who are instructing female athletes
by men who are instructing female athletes
Introduction of “Surari Muscle” Application
Surari Muscle” which is a growth and condition management Application for athletes was introduced. It was developed based on information obtained from the survey conducted by the Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport at Juntendo University and Nishibeppu National Hospital as part of the “Development and Support Project for Female Athletes” entrusted by the Japan Sports Agency (entrusted assignment) in 2018 and 2019.
Ms. Akiko Sekiguchi, a staff member of the Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport, explained the usage in detail and introduced the Application with the keynote speaker Dr. Matsuda who also gave explanations.
*“Surari Muscle” Applicationcan be downloaded from the website of Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport (Available for download only in Japan)
*“Surari Muscle” Applicationcan be downloaded from the website of Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport (Available for download only in Japan)
Mini Session
Before the panel discussion “Management of top athletes by controlling LBM”, a mini session was held between the three panelists where they exchanged their views concerning the important points to support female athletes in their period of growth and the importance of condition management with LBM.
Examples from female volleyball players
Ms. Akina Shibata, a Strength coach of Japan women’s volleyball national team aiming to win a medal in Tokyo 2020, pointed out that “improving muscular strength” is what the Japanese team should prioritize since there is a large difference in physiques when compared with the world’s powerful teams from other countries. She also explained that she thoroughly manages the players’ conditions by controlling LBM instead of body fat and that she uses “Surari Muscle table” to explain to the players why LBM control is necessary for athletes. Also while admitting that “physical control for the entire athletes is important for team sports”, she described that it is also important to individualize training and nutrition programs according to the athlete’s character, and used actual examples to support her point.
Ms. Akina Shibata, a Strength coach of Japan women’s volleyball national team aiming to win a medal in Tokyo 2020, pointed out that “improving muscular strength” is what the Japanese team should prioritize since there is a large difference in physiques when compared with the world’s powerful teams from other countries. She also explained that she thoroughly manages the players’ conditions by controlling LBM instead of body fat and that she uses “Surari Muscle table” to explain to the players why LBM control is necessary for athletes. Also while admitting that “physical control for the entire athletes is important for team sports”, she described that it is also important to individualize training and nutrition programs according to the athlete’s character, and used actual examples to support her point.
Ms. Akina Shibata
(Strength coach of Japan women’s volleyball national team)
(Strength coach of Japan women’s volleyball national team)
Dr. Ayako Inoshita
(Associate Professor in Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University)
(Associate Professor in Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University)
Athlete and Sleep
Dr. Ayako Inoshita, who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine and is also a Deputy Director of the Center for Sleep and Respiratory Disorders of Juntendo University Hospital, gave a lecture on “Athlete and Sleep” and “Sleep Disorders in Children”.
As she shared the research evidence, she explained that female athletes sleep less than male athletes and that there is a possibility that menstruation might be related to this. Referring to her knowledge as an Otolaryngologist, she also explained the role of the nose during sleep. She pointed out that nasal respiration during sleep has a good effect on the quality of sleep and the athlete’s performance. She also introduced a “tongue muscle training” method which can lead to correct nasal breathing.
Managing performance with nutrition
Ms. Shihoko Suzuki is the Chair Director of Japan Sports Nutrition Association who, as a certified sports nutritionist, provides a wide range of nutrition guidance from top athletes to junior athletes. First, she explained the idea of nutrient intake for athletes and explained the roles expected of sports nutritionists by the athletes and what they do for them. Moreover, she emphasized the significance of eating a balanced diet to avoid energy shortage because eating affects performance.
Also, from her experience so far, she passionately insisted that it is important to clarify each individual’s assessment (understanding the current situation) and provide nutritional guidance arranged based on the evidence according to the individual conditions of the athletes for top athletes to produce the best results.
Also, from her experience so far, she passionately insisted that it is important to clarify each individual’s assessment (understanding the current situation) and provide nutritional guidance arranged based on the evidence according to the individual conditions of the athletes for top athletes to produce the best results.
Ms. Shihoko Suzuki
(Professor at Kanagawa University of Human Services Faculty of Health and Social Services)
(Professor at Kanagawa University of Human Services Faculty of Health and Social Services)
Panel Discussion
Ms. Natsue Koikawa, Deputy Director of Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport who served as a coordinator, started the discussion by commenting that she felt “the importance of individual approach” through the mini session.
Ms. Shibata, who is living under the same roof with the Japanese national team until the Olympics and can listen to the voices of both the head coach and the athletes, shared some of the things that she tries to keep in mind when she coaches.
During the question-and-answer session, parents and coaches asked many questions concerning sleep, and Dr. Inoshita answered how snoring and usage of smartphones before going to bed can affect one’s sleep.
Also, a sports commentator who has many experiences interviewing various sports scenes said that she was concerned about the knowledge level of diet in coaches. She asked, “How can we disseminate correct knowledge to the very last person?” In response to the question, Ms. Suzuki showed examples of nutrition guidance that was offered to Japanese sports organizations in which she was involved and shared that in the training center in the United States, she saw that it was a common habit that the athletes choose their diet. She explained the importance of eating well and eating the right amount and explained the difficulty and importance of changing the Japanese custom of the tendency to restrain oneself from eating.
Closing Address
As the closing address, Dr. Etsuko Ogasawara, Executive Director of Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport, stated that the level of activities such as research and development are improving as the Center continued to take on challenges and worked hard to contribute to the needs from the world as the Center marks its sixth year since its establishment and from its initial research on the growth process of female athletes. . Furthermore, she emphasized, “Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport exists to change the world. We are not doing ‘research for research’.” She then mentioned that the studies are evidence-based, and concluded the conference by thanking those who cooperated in the research.
Childcare room
At this seminar as well, a “childcare room” was set up in the facility and specialized staff members took good care of the children, so participants and staff with small children could participate without anxiety.
