Evaluation of Kazakhstan Students’ Views on Health, Lifestyle, and Physical Activity

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate students' perception of their health, the development of their healthy lifestyle habits, and the role and place of physical activity in their daily lives. The research subjects were freshmen of one of the largest universities in the country, Al-Faraby Kazakh National University (n=100), at the age of 17.77±0.12 years, 64 of whom were female, and 36 were male. Respondents were asked to reply to a questionnaire consisting of 39 questions at the initial stage of adaptation to academic and physical activity at the university. The questionnaire included research on students' perception of their health, the development of healthy lifestyle habits, such as the quality of food, water consumption, the amount of time dedicated to sleep and its quality, the presence of bad habits, as well as the research on the role and place of working out in shaping the students’ lifestyle, volume and intensity of physical activity. It was revealed that students, even those having an understanding of the role and place of a healthy lifestyle, the significance of health in life, including their future professional career, were still distinguished by the insufficiently formed habits of healthy lifestyles, and did not work out to preserve and strengthen their health. The physical activity of most of the surveyed students did not even meet the recommended minimum. This research showed that the problem of a healthy lifestyle for young people studying in different socio-cultural contexts remains relevant and requires further more extensive research.