Valeriy Plotnikov, Boris Polyayev, Maxim Panyukov, Vitaly Levkov

Objective: The purpose of the study was to develop the method for integral assessment of physical development (PD) of college students. Participants and methods: The study was conducted in 1979 and 2001 through 2011 and involved 1492 students of Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University. Anthropometric methods were applied in the research. Length (L), body mass (M), moment of force (MF) which measures the strength of the back extension muscles, and vital lung capacity (VLC) were transformed into body mass index (BMI), strength index (SI), and vital index (VI). The percentage distribution of the acquired results was scored on a scale of 0-5. The sum of each VI, SI and BMI divided by 3 represented the quantitative integral assessment of physical development (PD). Results: PD of students in 1979 estimated as 3.30+/-0.12 conventional units and was considerably higher than that of their peers in 2001-2011, p<0.01. Conclusions: Separate anthropometric features do not give objective characteristic of PD. Quantitative integral assessment of PD based on values of BMI, SI and VI best reflects the essence of PD, physical potential of an individual.

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