On assessment of physical development of university students

Abstract

Health of the younger generation determines the prospects of social and economic development of Russia. So, concern for healthcare of the youth is displayed in fundamental state documents (including the ‘Fundamentals of the state youth policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025’) [1]. In accordance with its relevance, we conducted research aimed at examination of physical development of 1,820 students of the first and fourth years from four Universities of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Based on the past experience, standards of physical development for students from the Republic of Bashkortostan were developed and registered. A retrospective analysis was done comparing data related to modern students from the Republic of Bashkortostan and the ones related to the standard of physical development of students from the Republic of Bashkortostan obtained 25 years ago. The results reveal a tendency (during the last quarter of a century) to asthenization of modern youth from the Republic of Bashkortostan. The functional reserves of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems of students were assessed using the circulatory and respiratory Skibinski’s index. It is established that in students, the mean Skibinski’s index was 24.8 ± 0.3, which corresponds to the ‘satisfactory’ range only. The program called ‘Software to assess physical development and adaptation capabilities of the body’ was developed and registered at the Federal Institute of Industrial Property aimed at determination of a risk group of diseases among students depending on their physical development, functional condition and adaptive capabilities of the body.