E.S. Sadovnikov, associate professor, Ph.D.
Volgograd State University, Volgograd

Key words: healthy lifestyle, subject of health self-care, health, systemic activity approach, organization, sports and fitness activity.

Introduction. The methodology of studying healthy lifestyle (HLS) is based on the definition of health recorded in the documents of the World Health Organization, that defines this phenomenon as the unity of three components: physical well-being, mental well-being and social well-being. The investigation of the medicobiological and socio-educational mechanisms of forming each component involves the use of appropriate approaches. Today, four main approaches are distinguished in science and philosophy: phenomenological, theological, natural science, and activity [3]. Beside the main approaches, numerous intermediate ones are used as well, but the complex subject of our study requires a special integrative approach [2]. The problem of tools used for forming HLS was studied in many theses, and the following tools were indicated as basic for the formation of HLS: needs (M.A. Arvisto, 1982), motivation (E.B. Chernikova, 2010), orientations (N.V. Bredikhina, 2006), skills (A.P. Tuzhilin, 2006), values (Yu.Ya. Amosova, 2010), readiness (E.V. Vitun, 2007), relationships (A.D. Kuprava, 2005), abilities (S.V. Sal’nikov, 2007), guidelines (N.A. Bezrukikh, 2007), etc. The studies showed certain results on the formation of HLS, but these approaches have not been developed in theory and practice. In our opinion, this is due to at least two reasons: first, the grounds on which the formation of HLS based were not categorically justified; and secondly, the natural science approach prevents from combining them into one category, whereas using the systemic activity approach these methodological problems can be solved by integrating these notions into the concept of “organization” and carrying out a system analysis.

The purpose of the study was to determine an approach to study the process of formation of healthy lifestyle (HLS) of young people.

Results and discussion. The methodological aspects of the health phenomenon are the basis for studying the problem of complexity in the formation of HLS of young people. According to the requirements of the systemic activity approach which combines the system and activity approaches using methodological organization of thinking to solve the problem of complexity, HLS should be defined as good organization in personal fitness activity. Accordingly, the process of forming HLS can be considered as gaining experience in the individual organization of fitness activity. In turn, the concept of organization in a broad sense is interpreted in the systemic activity approach in two ways: on the one hand, “as a process of organizing, on the other hand – as a product of this process, as organization with one or another specific structure reflecting a certain stage of development of the process of organizing”, in our case it is the level of development of HLS [7].

The concept of organization fixes the productive and efficient aspect of organizing and recreational activities; it is a trace of the process, its imprint on the initial material. In this situation, it is very important to distinguish the process of forming HLS from sports and fitness activity itself. The result (product) of fitness activity is the dynamics of health level (recreational effect). The activity aimed at the formation of HLS is determined by the level of formation of the motives and meanings of good organization, so one can not take for granted the fact that any fitness activity leads to the formation of HLS. The level of health, either public or private is the initial material in fitness activity.

In the study of HLS, initial parameters are the levels of HLS formation, the composition of which forms the idea of the level of organization of personal motives and meanings of HLS. The fitness effect, in turn, is a unit of the analysis of fitness activity; hence, the methods used in these varying activities should be different. This difference is especially noticeable in sports and fitness activity, where the main tool (instrument) is the performance of motor actions in different variations, that leads to achieving the training (fitness) effect. Physical activity in some degree is related to the formation of HLS, but this process can be effective only under certain methodical conditions. Theoretically, the process of forming HLS is separate from fitness activity, and it requires a special approach to solving its problems.

According to P.G. Schedrovitsky, “… any particular organization always has a multi-layered or multi-level structure, where one or several organizational structures are painted or printed over another structure” [7]. Therefore, such a representation can be modeled by the organization consecutively passing through several levels of its development, with successive fixation of the traces of various processes on the initial material. At the first stage, the process of forming impressions occurs, which forms the primary level of organization; then, under the influence of another process, a certain image appears, and the second level of organization is imprinted “over” the impressions (traces). In this connection, a certain relation to the previous level is formed, and then the imprinting repeats again and again. As a result, a certain integrated structure appears, which has been formed by completely different processes, and carries on the traces of these processes in a varying degree. All this indicates, on the one hand, the good organization of sports and fitness activity, and on the other hand, the good organization of initial material, which is particularly important for generating the organization in the formation of HLS of young people.

Owing to the systemic mental activity logics of understanding this process P.G. Schedrovitsky concluded that “… any organization has inertia and generating power with respect to a certain class or some group of processes… it is not only a trace, but also a passage through which a certain process is more likely to proceed” [7].

The organization, which determines the level of formation of personal HLS, in our view, has a complex structure including at least five processes of ascending of organization levels: concern, habituation, homeostasis, optimization, and activation; these processes and their mechanisms (drivers) make up the pattern of HLS formation (Fig.).

We introduced the category of “concern” for a system analysis of the process of HLS formation at its initial stage related to the “self-care”, health self-care, and development of the subject of health self-care [5]. Although the analysis of the subject of activity involves the subjective and phenomenological approaches, we believe it is correct to use the knowledge gained in fundamental psychology to address the issue of HLS formation from the standpoint of the systemic activity approach, and at the same time to refrain from reducing the psychological framework of categories to the categories of the activity approach, as it has been described by V.Ya. Dubrovsky in his studies [3]. The process of developing the “subject of health self-care” occurs at the interface between health and poor health, that we present as a mechanism of organization with its main factor being the “subject of health self-care”.

The problem of studying the mechanisms of HLS formation should be considered from various standpoints (both external and internal determinants of recreational activities) and involves various aspects of their analysis. Proceeding from the study of the views of E.G. Yudin (1978), V.P. Zinchenko and S.D. Smirnov (1983), as well as the use of “synchronic” and “diachronic” aspects of the analysis, V.A. Petrovsky (2010) concluded about the twofold unity of the activity, manifested in the “differentiation between the processes that actualize certain contents present in consciousness and the processes that generate some innovations in individual and social consciousness. Both kinds of processes characterize activity. However, the first processes imply the implementation of activity, whereas the second ones – the self-motion of activity. Therefore, in the former case consciousness should be understood as an advance activity; in the latter case, on the contrary, it should be considered as a derivative product of activity” [4]. We believe it is the latter case, when consciousness is derived from activity, is the phenomenon that characterizes the formation of HWL during recreational activities.

Fig. System of HLS formation, abstract level

The process of habituation, or forming the habit of HLS, is aimed at the elimination of excessive degrees of freedom in human behavior (E.S. Sadovnikov, 2013), and the level of formation of this habit indicates the degree of organization gained in HLS [6]. The optimization process, or the optimum well-being in HLS, is determined by four principles of the positive organization of activity: (1) effort justification by achievements; (2) continuous search for new tools and methods to achieve a recreational effect; (3) achieving results at the lowest possible cost; (4) maximizing internal efforts [5]. Well-being is one of the main determinants of health, and, at the same time, it is a form of manifestation of the consistency defined in fundamental psychology as a result of implication [4]. No one would dispute the obvious fact that a healthy man is a man of substance. We also adhere to this view and, in turn, attempted to describe the process of gaining and development of health in terms of material implication and made the following conclusion: the relationships of material implication reveal the mechanism of increasing the level of physical and mental well-being as consistency which, in turn, sets conditions for health.

The processes that determine organization in forming HLS leave their traces or imprints and together constitute the system of HLS formation. Only one process, homeostasis, performs somewhat different function: it stabilizes the newly formed system. Homeostasis is considered in terms of material implication and is a measure of the system stability, its “indicator of strength” [4].

The quality of stability is also determined by the process of co-organization (N.G. Alekseev, 2003). N.G. Alekseev indicated the leading role of the dynamic component of organization compared to the category of system; he suggested, in contrast to the system, considering organization as a complex, and assumed that management of this complex is the process of co-organization. The sense of co-organization, or cooperative organization, consists in the mutual rotation of actors and managers at their positions. Thus, co-organization appears as a leading idea and a category of the integrated approach [1].

In our opinion, this interpretation of the integrated approach is too narrow. As for the idea to present the integrated management as a process of co-organization, it seems to be a reasonable suggestion and an appropriate tool for managing the process of HLS formation. The mutual rotation of actors (positioners) involved in the management of HLS formation will optimize the process and make it more efficient and manageable.

Conclusion. From the standpoint of the systemic activity approach healthy lifestyle should be defined as one of the organized elements of human recreational activities. Accordingly, the process of formation of HLS represents developed organized recreational activities and HLS acts as a product of practical and mental activities aimed at taking care of personal health and is one of spiritual guides of organization of human recreational activities.

Thus, proceeding from the study of the mechanisms of formation of HLS, the systemic activity approach is a major methodological parameter, which reveals the new knowledge about the regulatory framework of organization in sports and fitness activities. The use of this approach to the implementation of the phenomenon of organization of activity is determined by two types of norms: defining the method of action and specifying the method of formation of the respective organized elements. The study showed that there are many rules in sports and fitness activities, according to which the training (recreational) process is being carried out. In general, these norms specify the ways of performing actions: technique of execution of motor actions, mode of motor activity and other parameters of sports and fitness activities. However, there are very few norms regulating the formation of the respective organized elements of formation of HLS. Unlike the process of recreational activities, which is predetermined by the consciousness and is ahead of activity, the formation of HLS is derived from this activity - its "conscious" product. The results of the study underlie the practical work on formation of the respective organized elements of the process of formation of healthy lifestyle.

References

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Corresponding author: evgeniysadov@mail.ru