A system for creating healthy lifestyle in educational establishments as a way to prevent health disorders in children

Abstract

The paper focuses on morbidity among children that was examined as per medical aid appealability and prevailing behavioral factors among children aged 10–14 who attended schools with different systems for healthy lifestyle creation. In 2008, when a continuous system for healthy lifestyle formation was just being introduced, there were only slight differences in primary and overall morbidity among children aged 10–14 who attended test schools and reference ones; 10 year later, in 2018, primary and overall morbidity was substantially lower among children who attended tests schools than among those who went to reference ones. Primarily, it concerns such «school-induced» diseases as diseases of the eye and adnexa; diseases of the respiratory system; gastric diseases; diseases of the musculoskeletal system and the connective tissue; injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes. Data obtained via questioning that was performed among schoolchildren and concentrated on them assessing their health are well in line with official data on morbidity obtained as per medical aid appealability. Children from test schools estimated their health as poor much less frequently than children from reference schools; they were significantly less irritable, and bad mood was also not so frequent among them. Healthy lifestyle recommended for children included 5 basic components: fruit and vegetables should be consumed every day; sleep should b not shorter than 8 hours; physical activity was to be 1 hour a day or longer not more than 2 hours a day should be spent working or playing on a PC, laptop, or a smartphone; no alcohol intake and no smoking either. Assessment of this lifestyle revealed that a share of children who pursued it was higher in test schools than in reference ones; in the 5-6th grades, 18.7±1.62 % and 11.0±1.43 % (t=3.56) accordingly; in the 7‒8th grades, 19.2±2.09 % and 11.8±1.41 % (t=2.93).

Keywords

• children
• secondary schools
• a continuous system for healthy lifestyle formation
• morbidity
• questioning
• health self-assessment
• behavioral factors prevalence
• healthy habits