Assessment of physical development and functional parameters in first year students of the 2025/26 academic year aged 16–17 in comparison with data from 11 years ago
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Introduction. Preserving the health of students, including those studying in medical universities, is one of the states’ top priorities. Studying the health status of students aged 16–17 years, who have entered their first year at a medical university, and its dynamics over the past decades is of particular importance. Aim. To conduct a comparative analysis of physical development and functional parameters of first-year students aged 16–17 of the 2025/26 and 2014/15 academic years. Materials and methods. A comparative, retrospective-prospective study was performed involving 225 first-year students of Ivanovo State Medical University aged 16–17 (156 female students and 69 male students; 115 students were in the first year in the 2025/26 academic year, 110 – in 2014/15). Anthropo- and physiometric data of the students – height, body weight, level of physical development, chest circumference (during inspiration and expiration, chest excursion), spirometry results, muscle strength of the right and left hands as well as back strength with calculation of strength indices – were taken from Form No. 061/u “Medical Check-Up Record for Sports and Fitness”. Results. Compared with the 2014/15 academic year, in the 2025/26 academic year, the number of first-year students aged 16–17 (especially among girls) with normal physical development decreased, and the number of first-year students with deviations in physical development, caused by class I obesity, increased. Over the 11-year period, the upper limb muscle strength was decreased in female students by 1,2 times, and back strength in male students and female students – by 1,3 and 1,2 times, respectively. Negative changes were revealed in such parameters as chest excursion and lung vital capacity, which indicates deterioration in functions of the respiratory system in modern first-year students aged 16–17. Conclusion. The data obtained should be taken into account when organizing the system of physical education at a university, which is part of the educational process in junior students. Adequate selection of means of physical culture will allow correcting the identified disorders in first-year students, preserving and strengthening their health, increasing physical and mental performance, which is necessary for their future professional activity.
Institution: Ivanovo State Medical Academy
Language: English
Topic: Human Health and Disease
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7214976397