One of the society and state priorities is to bring up moral, responsible, initiative and competent citizen of Russia. In the system of human values which the younger generation has to acquire, the primary fundamental attention is given to health and a healthy lifestyle.
In the message of the Russian Federation President V. V. Putin to the Federal Assembly (12 December 2012) there is the concern about the state of Russian education including schoolchildren health.
In modern conditions health of the younger generation causes a particular concern. N. M. Amosov, M. V. Antropova, A. A. Baranov and others notice that at school age reproductive, intellectual, labor and military potential of the country is formed.
Data from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation point to unfavorable dynamics of the main indicators of the children health while schooling. Over the past 10-15 years a combination of several chronic diseases was identified at each school child. Only 10% of schoolchildren are healthy, 50% have disorders and 40% are at risk.
One reason of such situation is that a strong motivation for a healthy lifestyle has not been formed at younger generation, and there is no clear understanding of how to take care of their health. School students are not always able to resist the impact, often negative, from the environment. The development of information technology, the acceleration pace of life also increase the requirements to physical and mental endurance of children, their adaptation capacity.
The analysis of the literature, regulations and statistics allowed to come to a conclusion that at the initial stage of studying the child's health is experiencing the most negative impact. Entrance a school leads to a significant increase of neuro-emotional tension, load strengthening on the visual analyzer and musculoskeletal system, the volume changing of physical activity.
In this regard there is a need to focus on a healthy lifestyle at younger school children and, as well as in rehabilitation and training in methods and ways of restoration and protection of their physical, social, mental health from negative influences.
T.F. Akbashev, V.I. Kaznacheev, V. V. Kolbanov, L.A. Popova, etc. consider health as the integrative characteristic of any personality, covering its inner world and all singularity of relationships and the environment, and it includes physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects.
A healthy lifestyle includes favorable conditions of human life corresponding to its genetically determined typological peculiarities, the level of its culture, including behavioral and hygiene skills which allow to preserve and strengthen health, contributing to the prevention of the development of health disorders and maintaining optimal quality of life.
School objectives to improve the quality of education are aimed at training the younger generation for independent life and these tasks assume the formation their health values, education needs to lead a healthy lifestyle. Students often have not formed the idea of a healthy lifestyle. School students have not formed the idea of a healthy lifestyle yet. The majority (65%) of them when answering the question what values are in priority for them, say health.
However, fewer teenagers note personal significance of a healthy lifestyle, considering that compliance with treatment regimen, proper nutrition, regular physical exercise do not play for them too big role. Many school students think that there is no need to care about health .
Thus, an important task is not only to maintain the health of school children, but also to strengthen it.