During exercise at high temperatures, body temperature increases impairing exercise performance and resulting in heat illnesses. Water ingestion during exercise is a simple and practical strategy to prevent hyperthermia. In the present study, we examined the effects of water ingestion interval on thermoregulatory responses during exercise in a hot, humid environment (32t, 80% relative humidity) . Eight male university students performed a 60-min cycling exercise (60% of the maximal O₂ uptake) under four separate conditions; no drinking (ND), water ingestion (mineral water) at 5 (D5), 15 (D15), and 30 (D30) min intervals. The total volume of water ingestion (TWI) was identical during D5, D15, and D30, and equal to the amount of fluid lost in sweat during ND. TWI was divided equally by the number of drinking times in each experiment. During exercise, both rectal and mean skin temperature were lower in D5 than those in the other conditions (p<0.05) . There was no significant difference in total sweat loss between the four conditions, however, evaporative sweat loss and sweat efficiency (evaporative sweat loss total sweat loss) were significantly (p<0.05) higher in D5 than those in the other conditions. These results suggest that the shorter water ingestion interval increases evaporative sweating and attenuates higher body temperature during exercise in a hot, humid environment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits of sports participation in the prevention of pressure sores. A questionnaire was mailed to 668 men and woman with spinal cord injury. The questionnaire was designed to clarify the effects of physical activity and lifestyle on the development of pressure sores. Usable questionnaires were received from 466 persons, representing a response rate of 70%. Thirty-eight percent were quadriplegic and 62% paraplegic, with incomplete injuries accounting for 26% of the combined group. About half of the 466 subjects reported the development of pressure sores in their wheelchair life. Only 34% of the active subjects, participated in sports regularly, reported the development of pressure sores in their wheelchair life. On the other hand, 49% of the inactive subjects who did not participate in wheelchair sports reported the development of pressure sores. When the development of pressure sores before sports participation was compared with that after commencement of sports participation, there was no significant difference in the development of pressure sores between these periods. It was concluded that although quadriplegics and paraplegics without pressure sores had a greater tendency to participate in sports activity, there were no clear positive benefits of sports involvement on the prevention of pressure sores.

To clarify changes in body temperature during endurance exercise in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), we measured tympanic temperature (Tty) and skin temperature in the head, arm, chest, thigh, shin and calf in 5 patients with SCI (T6-T 12) and 7 normal controls during 30 minutes arm cranking exercise (20 watts) from 10 minutes before the initiation of exercise until 10 minutes after the termination of exercise in an artificial climate room at a temperature of about 25°C with a relative humidity of about 50%. The Tty in the SCI group was lower than that in the control group from 10 minutes before the initiation of exercise to 10 minutes after the termination of exercise with a significant difference only at the initiation of exercise. The difference in Tty slightly decreased with continuation of exercise. The Tty in the SCI group at rest was 36.05-37.15°C. Four patients in this group showed a decrease of 0.04-0.12°C in the early stage and an increase of 0.66°C±0.19 (mean±SD) at the end of exercise over the value at the initiation of exercise.
The skin temperature was lower in the SCI group than in the control group in all sites excluding the arm. Significant differences were observed in the head in the early stage of exercise and after exercise, in the chest from 10 minutes before the initiation of exercise to 5 minutes after the termination of exercise, in the thigh from 10 minutes before the initiation of exercise to 10 minutes after the termination of exercise, in the shin 10 minutes and 5 minutes before the initiation of exercise, and in the calf from before to 15 minutes after the initiation of exercise. In the SCI group, marked individual differences were observed in the skin temperatures in the thigh, shin, and calf, suggesting specificity of the skin temperature response in and near the paralysis area.
Results in Tty in this study suggested no heat retention in the SCI patients. Therefore, the risk for heat disorders seems to be low during moderate or mild exercise under moderate temperature environment at a temperature of about 25°C with a relative humidity of about 50% even when the skin temperature is low, and thermolysis is not marked.

Maximal oxygen uptake (Vo₂max) and lactate threshold were measured during an incremental bicycle ergometer test in 40 healthy middle-aged and older runners between 43 and 79 years of age. Although the 10-km run time slowed with increasing age, there were no significant differences in recent training habits or relative amount of body fat between four age groups. However, our cross-sectional data revealed an annual decrement of -0.74 ml/kg/ min/yr, which was significantly greater than that reported in previous studies. Vo₂max values for the runners were greater than those for sedentary men of similar ages by about 50% in each age group. Significant correlations were found between the age at the onset of running training and Vo₂max (r=-0.600, p<0.05) . Vo₂@LT declined significantly but less rapidly with age (r=0.686, p<0.05) than Vo₂max. Both the mean maximal heart rate (HRmax) and HR@LT also declined with age. No significant differences in HRmax were observed between the runners and sedentary men of the respective age groups. Significant correlations were also found between the estimated HRmax and directly measured HRmax (r=0.600) . Neither systolic blood pressure nor diastolic blood pressure during submaximal-maximal exercise were found to increase with age. We suggest that maintenance of a higher lactate threshold in older runners when expressed as a percentage of Vo₂max is attributable to a greater age-dependent decline in Vo₂max with a smaller change in Vo₂@LT.