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This study aims to compare the physical fitness test results of Japanese children in 2008 and 2018 to narrow the gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy and extend healthy life expectancy. In addition, this paper sought to explore the potential of implementing health education programs as a new social context to promote race equality and human rights in health and social care.

This study was conducted in 2008 and 2018 in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Physical fitness tests related to growth and development were administered to participants aged 6–17 years.

Physical fitness measurements in 2018, specifically those for walking ability and endurance, were significantly inferior to those in 2008. In a gender-specific analysis, boys outperformed girls in muscle strength, muscle endurance, walking ability and endurance tests, while girls outperformed boys in the balance test.

Most of the junior and senior high school students who participated in the EO test exceeded the upper limit of 120 s, suggesting that the load of the measurement method is low and improvement is necessary. In 2018, a large variation in 6M results was observed among participants, possibly due to the differences in the level of seriousness during the 6M test. Therefore, to ensure that junior and senior high school students properly perform the EO and 6M tests, it is necessary to devise an effective method of implementation, such as changing the physical fitness test load.

Mere health education is ineffective to address health inequalities. Addressing structural factors is essential to avoid unintended consequences such as increasing the gap between groups of people. However, one way to extend healthy life expectancy is to improve overall health, including differences in the health status of groups due to differences in region and socioeconomic status.

This study aims to evaluate a human rights-informed dementia prevention program promoting better health and social care among older adults. In this study, the authors examined whether a dual-task training would improve cognition in healthy older adults.

Individuals attending the systematic health education program for older adults based in Japan were recruited for study inclusion, and divided into a dual-task training group (TG) and a control group (CG). The TG underwent 90 min of a weekly dual-task training for 12 weeks. Severity of dementia was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test. Brain function was assessed using a go/no-go task paradigm, during which cerebral blood flow was additionally measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy to quantify oxyhemoglobin (oxy-Hb).

MMSE total score, number of errors in the go/no-go tasks and oxy-Hb values showed significant improvements in the TG.

Owing to the small number of participants allocated to the CG, the results must be interpreted with caution. Replication and further validation based on large-scale, randomized-controlled trials is warranted.

This study highlights potential benefits of incorporating an early prevention training for dementia into a human rights-friendly health education program.

This study suggests a potential means to reduce costs of social security and health care by introducing a human rights-informed dementia prevention program.

The results suggest that dual-task training may improve cognitive function in healthy older adults, thereby contributing to better health and improvement of social health care, based on a human rights-informed health education program for the prevention of dementia.