Rikkyo University

‘Good Morning 60 min' is a healthy lifestyle promotion program initiated by public elementary schools in Akishima City, Tokyo. In this program, students are encouraged to wake up at least 60 minutes before leaving home for school so that they have sufficient time to eat breakfast and have a bowel movement at home in the morning. When Professor Kawabata worked as a tenured Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (the 1st ranked university in the world in the category of young universities less than 50 years old by The Times Higher Education), he conducted research projects with Associate Professor Steve Burns to examine the effects of breakfast intake and physical activity on 1) students' cognitive function and academic performance and 2) students' mood at school. The results of the experimental study and the survey study were published in Nutrients (2021) and Nutrition and Health (2022), respectively.

In this research, Professor Kawabata will scientifically examine how the ‘Good Morning 60 min,' an excellent program by Akishima City to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors are related to children's physical and psychological well-being. The research will be conducted from a practical and an international perspective, in cooperation with Mr. Hiroshi MASANO, the principal of Koka Elementary School in Akishima City (left in the picture below) and other elementary school principals in Akishima City, school nurses and teachers at each elementary school, and Associate Professor Steve Burns of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Japan is one of the world's major industrialized countries in the framework of Group 7. According to the ‘Report Card 16' published by UNICEF (2020), Japan ranked the 1st for children's physical health among 38 rich countries based on the data on survival and overweight in children aged 5-14 old. However, Japan was ranked the 37th of 38 for children's mental well-being based on life satisfaction and suicide rates in youth aged 15-19 old. Considering the World Health Organization's (WHO, 1948) definition of health, it is imperative for Japan to improve the situation where such an extreme gap between physical health and mental well-being exists in children. To this end, it is the first step to identify factors influencing children's physical health and psychological well-being by employing appropriate research methods. Based on scientific data, it is highly desirable to establish a system and strategies to help children recognize their well-being and acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve it. In this sense, the results of this joint research with a public elementary school in Akishima City are eagerly awaited. We will keep you updated on the progress of this important joint research.

Dr. Masato Kawabata
Professor at the College of Sport and Wellness, Rikkyo University (Honorary Associate Professor, the University of Queensland, Australia)
Specialty: Sport and Exercise Psychology, Positive Psychology
Faculty of Sport and Wellness website (faculty interviews)

• Kawabata, M., Burns, S. F., Cheng, C.-H., & Lee, K. (2022). Weekday breakfast habits and mood at the start of the school morning. Nutrition and Health, 30, 149-156.
  
• Kawabata, M., Lee, K., Choo, H.-C., & Burns, S. F. (2021). Breakfast and exercise improve academic and cognitive performance in adolescents. Nutrients, 13, 1278.
  
• UNICEF Office of Research (2020). Understanding what shapes child well-being in rich countries. UNICEF Report Card 16: Worlds of Influence. Florence.