PhD N.A. Komarova¹
PhD, Associate Professor E.E. Elaeva¹
A.G. Mironov^1
1Mordovian State Pedagogical Institute named after M.E. Evseviev, Saransk

 

Keywords: physical health, monitoring tests, functionality rates, education, physical education.

 

Introduction. Modernization of work of higher education institutions engaged in specialist training should be considered as inseparable from health protection of students, as students’ health and educational process are closely related [2].

To date, closer monitoring of the students’ health situation is required, as confirmed by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 916 of 29.12.2001 "On the Russian people’s health and children, adolescent and youth physical development monitoring system". The development and implementation of the national physical health monitoring system is a public task in the field of social policy; the monitoring study reveals the cause-effect relationships between man’s physical condition and environmental factors, determines the impact of socio-psychological, sports educational, natural-environmental factors on the quality of life and promotes reasonable health-promotion decision-making. The indicators of physical development and physical fitness, obtained by examining homogeneous groups of young people, are necessary for developing their physical development and physical fitness standards, and for improving health promotion technologies in physical education. The study of the dynamics of changes in the students’ physical health indicators makes it possible to make adjustments to the university physical education process [3]. Many authors emphasize that the students’ physical health indicators need to be monitored [1, 4].

Objective of the study was to analyze the morphofunctional indicators in the Physical Education Department students in the educational process using monitoring tests.

Methods and structure of the study. The research work carried out at the premises of the Regional Physical Education and Healthy Lifestyle Research and Promotion Centre under Mordovian State Pedagogical Institute (MSPI) named after M.E. Evseviev in the period of 2013-2017. The research and educational activities of the Centre were carried out by means of integration with the scientific and material and technical base of REC "Humanities and education" and “Education in Natural Sciences”, which made it possible to carry out research in the field of physical education and sports and implement the results obtained in the educational and training process [5, 6].

We determined and analyzed the indicators and level of physical health in the Physical Education Department students throughout the period of study (4 years). A total of 200 young males aged 17-21 – 1st-4th-year students majoring in pedagogical education in the Physical Education discipline were involved in the study. The following anthropometric and physiometric indicators (in a state of relative physiological rest) were obtained using the computerized programs of the complex diagnostic system "Health-Express": body height (cm), body mass (kg), heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), pulse pressure (PP), vital capacity (VC). We calculated endurance coefficient (EC), Kerdo vegetation index (KVI), cardiac output (CO), minute blood volume (MBV), and adaptive potential (AP). The functional state of the respiratory system was evaluated using the Serkin's test and Skibinskaya’s index. The subjects’ physiological indicators were registered at the same time of the day during the educational process on the day of practical sessions at the beginning of the academic year and on the day of the exam at the end of the academic year. The data obtained were processed using the mathematical methods of statistics.

Results and discussion. The analysis of the students’ anthropometric characteristics and assessment of their physical development (body height and body mass, carpal dynamometry, VC) revealed nothing but a tendency and no significant dynamics during their four-year-long training process (Table 1).

 

Table 1. Results of physical health monitoring

Year of study		Body height	Body mass	Dynamometry	VC	HR	SBP	DBP
1st	B	178.2±0.5	67.32±0.8	47.5±0.6	4075.0±53.5	67.1±0.64	117.2±1.1	75.1±0.9
	E	178.2±0.5	66.2±0.5	48.1±0.4	4063.0±50.5	88.1±0.57	135.0±0.5	83.6±0.36
2nd	B	178.6±0.6	68.5±0.9	48.9±0.72	4261.6±69.94	67.1±0.1	118.0±1.0	72.5±0.8
	E	178.6±0.6	67.1±0.4	48.5±0.6	4278.6±44.3	86.8±0.2	134.7±0.7	83.5±0.3
3rd	B	178.4±0.7	69.9±1.1	49.8±0.90	4214.1±70.07	65.8±0.5	119.7±0.7	73.1±0.9
	E	178.4±0.7	68.9±0.2	49.1±0.7	4198.1±52.7	86.6±0.5	134.1±0.7	83.3±0.4
4th	B	177.6±0.6	70.2±1.10	51.3±0.8	4300.0±69.8	70.2±1.1	119.2±0.97	73.3±1.6
	E	177.6±0.6	69.9±0.4	51.9±0.2	4127.0±51.1	85.1±0.5	128.0±1.3	78.61±0.9

Note. Here and in Tables 2 and 3: B – beginning of the year, E – end of the year.

 

At the beginning of the academic year, in the absence of stresses, most of the hemodynamic test rates varied within the physiological norm in the Physical Education Department students of all training courses. The HR, SBP, DBP, and PP values at rest indicated effective cardiac performance.

The mean negative KVI value, registered in all groups at the beginning of the academic year, indicated the prevalence of parasympathetic influences on the cardiac activity. The mean EC values ​​in the young males indicated sufficient functionality of the cardiac muscle. All young males from the Physical Education Department had a satisfactory level of adaptation (their AP values did not exceed the upper limit of 2.1 points). When comparing the hemodynamic test rates of the 1st-4th-year students at the beginning of the academic year, the differences between the majority of the indicators were found insignificant. However, it should be noted that the 2nd-3rd-year students had the highest indicators (Tables 1, 2).

 

Table 2. Results of functional state monitoring in Physical Education Department students

Year of study		PP	EC	KVI	CO	MBV	AP
1st	B	42.0±1.1	16.5±0.59	-16.4±1.9	65.1±0.9	4.36±0.06	2.0±0.03
	E	51.4±0.53	17.2±0.2	4.97±0.8	66.2±0.5	5.84±0.07	2.6±0.02
2nd	B	39.8±1.0	17.5±0.5	- 16.7±1.6	68.7±0.77	4.47±0.06	2.0±0.02
	E	50.4±0.7	17.3±0.3	3.6±0.96	65.5±0.6	5.7±0.08	2.3±0.02
3rd	B	46.6±1.1	14.4±0.3	-15.2±1.5	68.5±1.95	4.54±0.07	2.0±0.03
	E	50.8±0.9	17.2±0.5	3.7±0.8	65.1±0.7	5.6±0.07	2.25±0.02
4th	B	45.8±2.3	15.9±0.83	- 15.7±2.6	69.1±0.9	4.8±0.16	2.05±0.02
	E	48.9±1.6	16.6±0.6	7.1±1.54	61.9±1.0	5.58±0.11	2.6±0.03

Note. H – body height, cm, M – body mass, kg.

 

At the end of the academic year, during the examination, statistically significant changes were observed in all hemodynamic test rates. The young males’ stress driven by the exams was accompanied by a significant increase in their HR and corresponding SBP, DBP and PP values. The mean values of EC suggested a decrease in the functional reserves of the heart. The changes in the KVI values were quite natural and indicated a significant increase in the sympathetic tone of the ANS in the students. The index value, corresponding to the stage of tension of the adaptation mechanisms, was fixed in the young males of all examined groups, which was especially noticeable in the 1st- and 4th-year students.

The analysis of the Serkin's test results revealed good tolerance of hypoxic conditions by the students. According to our research, it was the 2nd- and 3rd-year students who had the maximum breath holding time indices and, therefore, higher functional and reserve capabilities of the body both at the beginning and at the end of the academic year. The 4th-year students demonstrated the highest results in this test, which was most likely due to their stress reaction to the final examinations (Table 3).

 

Table 3. Results of respiratory system functionality monitoring in Physical Education Department students

Indicator	1st year of study		2nd year of study		3rd year of study		4th year of study
	B	E	B	E	B	E	B	E
ST
1st stage	65.3±0.3	53.2±0.7	66.9±0.6	55.7±1.3	70.1±1.0	72.4±0.7	69.6±0.6	53.7±0.8
2nd stage	37.3±0.4	29.2±0.8	38.6±0.3	31.5±1.6	41.0±0.5	43.4±0.7	41.6±0.3	28.4±0.8
3rd stage	76.6±0.5	57.4±0.9	78.9±0.6	60.6±1.3	85.3±0.3	88.4±0.6	68.4±0.6	56.6±0.7
SI	29.5±1.0	28.4±0.2	31.9±1.4	30.1±0.3	34.9±1.6	32.1±0.3	29.8±1.49	29.1±0.1

Note.  ST – Serkin’s test, SI – Skibinskaya’s index.

 

The evaluation of the combined test using the Skibinskaya’s index indicated a satisfactory level of functional capacities of the cardiorespiratory system in the young males of all training courses in response to physical load.

The conducted monitoring of the Physical Education Department students’ physical health revealed the physiological indicators that characterized their adaptive capability to the educational environment in different ways. The students’ hemodynamic test rates at the beginning of the academic year varied within the limits of the physiological norm. However, in the 2nd-3rd-year students they were higher than those in the 1st- and 4th-year students. In the examination period, the degree of hemodynamic shifts was found to be higher in the 4th-year students. Adaptation to stresses in all young males corresponded to the stage of tension of the adaptation mechanisms. A decrease in the adaptive potential of young males in the training process was caused by social factors and stress during university studies.

Conclusion. The monitoring of students’ physical health is not only an integral part of the university educational process that makes it possible to determine the level of their conditional physical fitness, but also one of the main evaluation criteria used in the training process efficiency rating.

 

References

1. Vlasova V.P., Pozharova G.V., Fedotova G.G. et al. Obuchenie studentov metodologii monitoringa funktsionalnogo sostoyaniya i sostoyaniya zdorovya obuchayuschikhsya [Teaching students methodology of functional state and health monitoring]. Gumanitarnye nauki i obrazovanie, 2017, no. 3 (31), pp. 14-20.

2. Izaak S.I. Monitoring fizicheskogo razvitiya i fizicheskoy podgotovlennosti: teoriya i praktika [Monitoring of physical development and physical fitness: theory and practice]. Moscow: Sovetskiy sport publ., 2005, 196 p.

3. Lebedinsky V.Yu. [ed.] Monitoring zdorovya subiektov obrazovatelnogo protsessa v vuzakh. ‘Pasport zdorovya’ [Monitoring of health in subjects of academic educational process. ‘Health passport’]. Irkutsk: IrSTU publ., 2008, 268 p.

4. Pozharova G.V., Elaeva E.E. Funktsionalnaya adaptatsiya studentov fakulteta fizicheskoy kultury k uchebnomu protsessu [Physical education faculty students' functional adaptation to educational process]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2013, no. 8, pp. 27-27.

5. Ryabova N.V. Mordovskiy bazovy tsentr pedagogicheskogo obrazovaniya kak innovatsionnoe strukturnoe podrazdelenie instituta [Mordovian basic teacher training center as innovative structural division of institute]. Gumanitarnye nauki i obrazovanie [Humanities and Education], 2012, no. 2 (10), pp. 41–45.

6. Shukshina T.I. Mordovskiy bazovy tsentr pedagogicheskogo obrazovaniya kak innovatsionnaya model podgotovki uchitelya [Mordovian base center of teacher education as an innovative model of teacher training]. Rossiyskiy nauchny zhurnal, 2011, no. 4, pp. 76–85.

 

Corresponding author: t_i_shukshina@mordgpi.ru

 

Abstract

The study was designed to estimate health of the Physical Education Department students at Mordovian State Pedagogical Institute named after M.E. Evseviev. Subject to the anthropometrical measurements and physical fitness tests were the first-to fourth year students (n=200) in the period of 2013-2017, with the tests run at the beginning and at the end of every academic year for comparative analysis. The test data showed the students’ physical fitness rates and anthropometric characteristics growing throughout the academic educational period. The hemodynamic test rates in every age group at the beginning of the year were found within the physiological norm; albeit the 2-3-year students’ test rates were higher versus those of the 1st and 4th-year students. The autonomic statuses were found somewhat tense – possibly due to the intensive and dynamic lifestyles dominating in the academic educational process. The test rates at the end of the year showed remarkable and statistically significant variations in every test rate that may be due to the defensive mechanisms in the body in responses to examination-related stress, with the variations being particularly expressed in the final-year students.