"Why is it important for children to exercise?" On Monday, February 6th, Dr. Tsuyoshi Sogo, deputy chief of Pediatric Hepatology and Gastroenterology, was invited to give a lecture at the Yokohama Municipal Shimosueyoshi Elementary School, located near our hospital, at the school's sponsored event, "School Health Committee: Energy Boost Strategy - Early to Bed, Early to Rise, and Breakfast."

The theme is "Get to know your body!"
Dr. Togawa put up handmade visual materials and explained in a loud voice and with gestures why it is important for children to exercise. All 166 students in the school seemed to be listening intently. Good motor skills = the brain being able to use the body well. "Right now, you are all in an important period in which you are training your brain and nerves by receiving lots of stimuli from your sensory organs, such as your eyes, ears, hands, feet, nose, and tongue. When you play games that just involve staring at a screen, the brain doesn't develop because the same stimuli always reach it. By exercising, you are able to receive a variety of information into your brain, which helps develop your brain and nerves," he said, after explaining the relationship between the development and growth of the five senses and the brain.

A surprise costume change!
The children's excitement soared when Dr. Togawa, who had changed out of his white coat and into his karate uniform, revealed that he was in fact a Taido practitioner who had won the national championship, and moved from the lecture to a practical corner entitled "Mysterious Experiments with the Body." He had the children actually move their bodies in three ways: "The power of greetings," "The power of seeing with the eyes," and "The power of the thumbs," and explained the tricks to using the body well. He also taught them "exercises to become good at sports." The children were so excited that the 60 minutes flew by, and at the end, they politely sat upright and gave their thanks.