Healthy Lifestyle As Value System Of Student Youth

Abstract

Public health is an important resource for ensuring the state stability, a key factor in social development and national security. The current stage in the implementation of the state policy in the field of physical culture and sports is characterized by an increased attention to the formation of a healthy lifestyle across the population. Nevertheless, the percentage of citizens involved in mass sports remains low. The article considers scientific approaches to the definition of the concept of "healthy lifestyle", which is a set of measures aimed at improving the health of the individual, the way (or forms) of life activity and the consciousness or psychology of people in relation to one's own health. The authors propose considering a healthy lifestyle through the prism of social significance as a global social problem, an integral part of the society life as a whole as well as consciousness and psychology of a person in relation to one's own health. The role of physical education and sports in the formation of a healthy lifestyle is defined. Through the author's sociological research, the role of physical education and sports in the lifestyle of the modern youth was analyzed. The main reasons preventing youth from physical education and sports were revealed. The authors conclude that a new approach to the formation of the physical education of society and the individual calls for essential changes in state policy in this branch and the appeal of its vector to the mass sports development.

Keywords: Healthhealthy lifestylephysical education and sportsstate policyyouthvalue system

Introduction

Concept of the healthy lifestyle

In the scientific literature, there is no definite approach to the definition of the concept of a healthy lifestyle. In the opinion of Yurechko (2009), a healthy lifestyle is a way of life of a person, presupposing the prevention of diseases and one's own health promotion. Evseev (2008) considers a healthy lifestyle to be a schedule of actions and activities aimed at health promotion. Rodionova (2012) understands the healthy lifestyle as forms and ways of life of a person, strengthening and improving the adaptive and reserve potential of the organism, ensuring, ultimately, the successful fulfillment of social and professional functions by the individual.

The opinion of Zysmanova (2006) about the healthy lifestyle is interesting. It includes all the positive aspects of people's life such as work satisfaction, an active life position, social optimism, the absence of bad health habits, high physical activity, establishment of the way of life, high medical activity, etc.

Considering a healthy lifestyle through the prism of social significance, scientists interpret it as a global social problem, an integral part of the life of society as a whole, the consciousness and psychology of a person with respect to one's own health.

Summarizing the definitions available in the literature, one can conclude that a healthy lifestyle is viewed as a set of measures aimed at the health promotion of the individual, the way (or forms) of life activity, the consciousness and psychology of a person with respect to one's own health.

The definitions presented in the scientific literature allow us to consider a healthy human as an end result reflecting the level of formation of a healthy lifestyle, including the following biosocial criteria:

• morphofunctional indicators of health: the level of physical development and training;

• level of immunity: the number of colds and infectious diseases for a certain time period;

• the level of valeological indicators: the motivation degree for a healthy lifestyle; the level of development of skills to strengthen and maintain health; degree of valeological knowledge

• adaptation to the social and economic life conditions: the performance effectiveness of family, domestic and professional duties; width and activity of manifestation of social and personal interests;

• the level of development of skills of self-modeling an individual health trajectory and the development of a healthy lifestyle program.

The indicator of public health is of great importance in the formation of a healthy lifestyle of the population (if one considers it as an end result). It is correlated with the wealth of society, that is, the factor, without which a set of material and spiritual values cannot be created.

The categorical concepts of public health index and public health potential are adjacent to the category of public health (see figure 01 ). The index of public health is calculated as the ratio of healthy and unhealthy lifestyle. The potential of public health is the quantity and quality of health of people and society as well as its reserves created by a healthy lifestyle (Kutsenko, Vyalkov, & Agarkov, 2003).

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According to the World Health Organization, the lifestyle prevails among all the factors affecting the public health. The importance of the lifestyle is enhanced by its direct impact on health, while social and economic as well as other factors and conditions are mediate.

In analyzing the lifestyle, the characteristics of professional, social and cultural activities of a person are examined. Social, labor and physical activity of individuals are special aspects in this case. In other words, the important components in a person's lifestyle are social environment as well as ways and forms of the life activity. It should be taken into account that different social groups have their differences in the lifestyle, namely in values, attitudes, and behavior standards. The lifestyle conditioned by social, economic and other conditions also depends on the motives of person's activity, psychological markers and state of health. This, in particular, explains the variety of variations in lifestyle of people.

Lisitsyn (2007) distinguishes three components in the lifestyle. There are living standards, the life quality and the lifestyle. The living standard reflects the degree of satisfaction of the material, spiritual and cultural needs of the individual. The life quality displays comfort in meeting the human needs. The lifestyle indicates behavioral feature of human life or a certain standard, to which psychophysiology and personality psychology are adapted (Lisitsyn, 2007). Assessing the role each of the above-mentioned components in the formation of public health, it should be noted that with equal strength of the impact of the first two (level and quality) that are of a public nature, the human health largely depends on a lifestyle that has a personalized character and is determined by historical, national and social characteristics as well as personal inclinations. The formation of any lifestyle is based on certain principles, i.e. behavior rules, which the individual follows.

Physical education and sports in the formation of a healthy lifestyle

Physical education and sports are key factors in the harmonious development of an individual. Numerous studies of scientists indicate that physical education is the basis and driving force for the formation of a healthy lifestyle (Terekhova, 2015; Skiridova, 2016). Physical education is a part of a social culture in which the processes of assimilation and reproduction of human social experience are realized. Physical education acquires the status of the dominant factor in the formation and development of physical qualities as well as human skills and habits while formation and development of social educational and pedagogic systems. The sphere of physical education is presented in this status as a subsystem of the life activity associated with the development of physical abilities of a person to achieve physical perfection.

Bodybuilding culture, health culture and physical activity are the main elements of physical education, as part of a healthy lifestyle (see figure 02 ).

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Physical education, in addition to the knowledge and psychological attitude to maintain a healthy lifestyle, includes the means used to protect and promote the health (for example, exercise, sports, etc.), as well as the ability to use them. In connection with this, it becomes urgent to study the level of involvement of citizens in physical education and sports (Khairullina, Belonozhko, Bakhtizin, Gaisina, Kosintseva, 2016; Higgs, 2004; Ustinova, 2014).

According to the forecast, it is necessary that 30% of the population take part in physical education and sports for effective implementation of social, economic and health promotion functions of physical culture. According to experts, Russia will reach such level only by 2020 (Sokolov, 2010).

Problem Statement

The urgency of the indicated problem is due to:

• Ineffective state policy in the field of sports, manifested in the payment for sports activities, underdeveloped sports infrastructure, especially in peripheral cities, poor promotion of sports and healthy lifestyles etc.

• Depreciation of the value of physical education and sports among the modern youth.

• The reorientation of interest from mass sport events, competitions, marathons etc., which accompanied people at school, in institute and even at work, to individual sports, accessible to the population groups having a sufficient material level and making serious demands on their own health and appearance.

Questions for Discussion

The President of Russia also pointed out the importance of the state policy in the branch of physical education and sports. Thus, at the constituent congress of the Association of Student Sport Clubs in June 2013, Putin noted that high athletic achievements and the successes of Russian athletes in prestigious international competitions are important and necessary. But the main thing is to make sport and the active lifestyle a norm of Russian society (News about political parties of Russia and CIS countries, 2013).

In connection with this, the main problems in the branch of physical education and sports are actualized.

1. Funding. Expenditures on the branch from the federal budget are at an extremely low level. To date, the sport of higher performance uses almost completely the funds allocated for physical education and sports, especially in the years when preparations for the Olympics in 2013 were made, and expecting the World Cup in 2018 as well as the 2019 Winter World University Games. As for mass sports, there is currently a tendency of underfunding physical education and sports at the regional and local levels.

2. Uninformed population. The subjects of the implementation of the state policy in the branch of physical education and sports face such a problem as a significant lack of information among the population about the policy and sport events. The importance of scientific and information support is undervalued at various levels of governance. There is no unified information infrastructure. Existing projects in this area are prioritized based on the use of the Internet, which limits their effectiveness to economically undeveloped areas.

3. Underdeveloped infrastructure of physical education and sports, namely, the lack of a modern material and technical base meeting the needs of the population and its individual groups.

4. Staffing of the industry. This problem involves two important aspects. At first instance, it is the lack of an effective system of training personnel that meets the requirements of the labor market of physical education and sports. At second instance, it is the imbalance of supply and demand in the labor market in this branch.

Thus, the branch of physical education and sports in the Russian Federation has a number of significant problems. The implementation of public policy is not enough effective in connection with them.

Research purpose

is to identify the role of physical education and sports in the lifestyle of the modern youth. The choice of the young people as an object of study is due to the fact that the health of the younger generation is important for the development of the nation. Investing funds and knowledge in the youth, the state thereby takes care of its future, the health of the nation and the possible transition to an expanded type of the population reproduction.

Research methods

The authors conducted a survey of the population in Tyumen at the age of 16 to 25 years (540 respondents) (Table 01 ). The initial research hypotheses were assumptions that, at first instance, young people have little knowledge about a healthy lifestyle; therefore, they do not have sufficient motivation for physical education and sports. At second instance, the healthy lifestyle is not a priority value for young people.

Findings

In the survey, respondents were asked to choose the values that were dominant for them. The highest rating belongs to the value of "family well-being" (4.56 points), followed by "interesting and diverse job" (4.52 points). The value of "health" was in the third position, which indicated the youth's understanding of the importance of being healthy.

At the same time, the authors note that young people do not correlate "health" with the ability to have a healthful life activity. The value of "sports and physical education" occupies only the 11^th (!) position in the rating, giving way to "a lot of money", "life without conflicts", etc. (Figure 03 ). It can be assumed that young people consider health as genetically inherent characteristics and physical education and sports will not affect its condition in any way.

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When asked about the knowledge degree (awareness) of young people about a healthy lifestyle, the following answers were received (Figure 04 ).

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The meaning of the concept of healthy lifestyle is clearly understood only by 34% of respondents. The rest either had a vague idea of it, or did not ask this question at all.

It is annoying that the indicator "physical education and sports" is inferior to such types of pastime as "surfing on the Internet" and "watching TV" (Figure 05 ).

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Young people not engaged in physical education and sports noted the following reasons for their behavior. Lack of free time with 41.9% is in the first flight, followed by financial difficulties with 22.2%, absence of the company with 14.8% is running third (Figure 06 ).

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The obtained results correlate with study results of other scientists. Thus, a population survey residing on the territory of the Urals Federal District on the hierarchy of their value orientations, conducted by Ustinova and Artyukhov in 2012, showed that "good health" was listed at the end of the list and inferior to career, material well-being and other values in the value system (Ustinova, Artyukhov, 2012). The authors of the study conclude that the value priorities of economic and social nature are different in regions with different economy levels and percentage of urban and rural residents, but nevertheless indicate that respondents unanimously rank their health at the end of the values list.

Another, not less interesting, study, conducted by Ustinova and Garabaghiy in 2010, allowed to reveal the dominant values of student youth in Tyumen, including: family well-being, interesting and diverse work, health, freedom in activities and decision-making as well as love. On the one hand, it is noteworthy that "health" occupies the third position in the values rating. On the other hand, it is alarming that it is inferior to such value as "interesting and diverse work" (Figure 07 ) (Ustinova, Garabagyi, 2010).

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Conclusion

Summing up, the authors of the paper conclude that the value of "physical education and sports" is not among the priority ones in the value system of the modern youth. Young people do not see the interdependence of the values of "physical education and sport" and "health". The revealed low activity of young people to engage in physical education and sports is due to, first of all, organizational reasons: lack of promotion and, as a result, lack of awareness of young people about healthy lifestyle as well as low prestige and social importance of sports among young people.

The directions that make it possible to increase the efficiency of the implementation of state policy in the mentioned branch include the following ones:

1) Funding of the mass sports: increasing the state funding of the mass sports; an increase in income of sports organizations; sponsorship.

2) Informing and promoting sports and healthy lifestyles: the formation of a stable interest among the population, especially children and young people, in regular physical education and sports, in healthy lifestyle, and in raising the level of education in this branch; improving the quality of physical education among the population, monitoring of physical training and development of children and youth; formation of a federal, regional and local information system, promotion and information technologies on the main activities in this branch; the advertising of sport circles, sections and youth athletic centers in a particular area.

3) Development of infrastructure for physical education and sports: strengthening the material and technical base for physical education and sports, especially in comprehensive schools and other educational institutions; creating conditions for the development of mass and professional sports as well as sports of higher performance; creation of a complete register of federal property of the state and subjects of the Russian Federation, providing the training and educational process as well as conducting sport events;

4) Human resourcing of the branch: creation of an effective system for training sports reserve; providing the branch with personnel with knowledge of management and marketing as well as possessing the inclinations of entrepreneurs, capable to quickly responding to changes in demand, self-improvement and expanding their knowledge.

A new approach to the formation of a physical culture of the individual and society calls for drastic changes in state policy in this branch and in the direction of its vector to the development of the mass sports.

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