Physical training and sports among applicants for higher medical education as a fundamental component of their future military service: the predisposition of medical students to a healthy lifestyle

Introduction. Physical education is the basis for the growth and development of a healthy body of young people. The definition, analysis and justification of their attitude to physical education, which is both a discipline of the student’s choice and a separate type of activity, becomes important for the probable update of the curriculum of the discipline of the student’s choice "Physical training", thematic plans and work programs. Purpose. To determine the attitude of higher medical education students to the peculiarities of teaching the discipline "Physical training", the prevalence of physical education classes among them and the general interest in physical activity and sports among students. Materials and methods. In the course of the study, the method of questioning was applied, followed by mathematical processing of the obtained results. 113 applicants for higher medical education who study at the Faculty of Doctors’ Training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (FDTAFU) in the specialty 222 "Medicine" were surveyed. The questionnaire, which was distributed among students in October 2024, was discussed and approved at a methodological meeting of the Department of Physical Education and Health of the FDTAFU. Results. The study sought to highlight students’ attitudes towards possible changes in educational, professional and/or training programs, that would be aimed at the correspondence of the didactic aspects of the above discipline to modern realities. Compared to the previous results of our 2020 study there was a significant increase in the share of higher medical education students who play sports in extracurricular time – from 9% in 2020 to 33% in 2024. The increase in the indicator of actual interest in sports and maintaining one’s health by more than 3.5 times indicates an increase in students’ interest in maintaining their health, promoting a healthy lifestyle among their peers and the invariably well-established and constantly functioning work of the staff of the Department of Physical Education and Health. Conclusions. The students expressed an irrefutable desire to expand the possibility of teaching physical education for all 6 years of their stay at the university. 58.4% of all students of higher education in the specialty 222 "Medicine", who study at the faculty of doctors’ training for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, voted for this option. This indicator is a confirmation of the correct vector of development and popularization of physical training among students. This contributes to the revival of students’ activity in the context of maintaining their health, the functional state of their body and their compliance with the individual characteristics of an individual and the basic principles of a healthy lifestyle.