Students’ Health and its Interrelation with Physical Fitness Level

Abstract

The level and dynamics of students’ physical health during the 1st and the 2nd years of studying at a Ukrainian higher educational institution are investigated in this article, and the interrelation between the indicators of students’ health and physical fitness is defined. Seventy-three students of Zhytomyr National Agroecological University (38 male and 35 female students) took part in the investigation. The level of the students’ physical health was evaluated according to the methodology of Professor Apanasenko based on the anthropometry indicators (body weight and lengths, lung capacity, wrist power) and the state of the cardiovascular system (heart rate, blood pressure, heart rate recovery). It has been determined that the physical health level of both male and female students did not improve during the 1st and the 2nd years of studying; more than 80% of the students (both men and women) have below middle and low levels of health; the overall points are measured by 2.31–3.27 points. It indicates the lack of the efficiency of the current system of physical education at Ukrainian higher educational institutions and the necessity of the search for the means of its improvement. The correlation analysis defined an authentic interrelation (p<0.05) between the students’ physical fitness level and the indicators of their health. Most of the authentic correlation connections are defined due to the results in the endurance and power exercises.

Keywords

• health
• physical fitness
• physical education
• students