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APPENDIX of Questions Extracted from the SDQ for the Study Here. Fourteen questions (1 to 14) were rated by a four-point (0 to 3) scale (0 for no disability and 3 for severe disability) and one (question 15) was a "yes/no" question (yes was scored 2.5 and no was scored 0.5). (DOCX 35Â kb)

APPENDIX of Questions Related to SD Costs in the Study. (DOCX 34Â kb)

APPENDIX of Questions Related to Personal Matters Here. (DOCX 36Â kb)

In accordance with nutritional improvement, the environmental sanitation, and advance in medical technology after World War II, Japan has achieved almost the longest lifespan in the world. This change has two implications. Firstly, this has led to a drastic increase in elderly population in Japan. Secondly, a part of Japanese has faced the problem of over-nutrition due to e.g. an inappropriately increased intake of total energy and total fat, a more sedentary lifestyle or insufficient physical activity in association with use of various mechanic devices or transportation including a car in their life. Their lifestyles are not only associated with an increased risk of lifestyle-related morbidity, but also with increased medical expenditure. Some studies reported higher prevalences of obesity, glucose intolerance (Kawamori 2002), hypertension (Ueshima et al. 2000), and/or hyperlipidemia (Koba and Sasaki 2006) in recent years as compared to past. These lifestyles factors and morbidity are suggested as possible risk factors for a higher mortality related to cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer.