Problems of developing a healthy lifistyle for students

Today, health, as a key indicator of the vital activity of society, undergoes qualitative and quantitative changes. Scientists focus on a steady decline in health indicators among Russian citizens. Scientific interest in the formation of a healthy lifestyle among young people increases. Formation of a culture of health and promoting HL principles happens through social institutions. Higher education institutions have an environment, which acts as a platform to grow value attitude toward personal health among students. This study aims to examine the challenges associated with the formation of a healthy lifestyle for students. The authors utilized general sociological theoretical approaches. A questionnaire survey served as the empirical basis. The results demonstrate the multidimensionality of the concepts of “health” and “healthy lifestyle.” Young people interpret HL in ways influenced by both subjective and objective factors. Students often exhibit unstable motivation and inconsistent value orientations toward maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This is so because of a lack of activity approach to health reserves formed by the microenvironment (family, reference groups) and macroenvironment (media space, blogosphere). The study identifies key determinants that reduce students’ health resources, outlines health-preserving practices, and analyzes factors that influence students’ attitudes toward a healthy lifestyle. The authors also define major problems in the formation of HL and suggest directions for addressing these problems. Scientific novelty is determined by empirical confirmation of existing contradictions in the field of healthy life-style. Young people acknowledge the importance of health yet often fail to incorporate it into their daily behaviors. The results emphasize the prominent role of new media in shaping HL principles and introduce a multi-level classification of issues related to HL formation. The results have practical value for enhancing health preservation strategies existing in higher education institutions and Department of youth policy of the Tyumen region for developing effective health preventive programs.

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