The efficacy of Nordic walking in enhancing the physical health of female students with chronic diseases

Abstract

Efforts aimed at enhancing the health of young individuals through physical education are a pressing concern for specialists in this area. Research objective: To increase the daily physical activity level and physical fitness of students with somatic diseases through the implementation of Nordic walking. Materials and methods: The study was conducted among female students of Irkutsk National Research Technical University (Russia) over the course of one academic year. Fifty girls aged 17–19 participated, with various chronic somatic diseases identified through medical examinations. The students were divided into a control group (CG, n=20) and an experimental group (EG, n=30). Traditional physical education and wellness classes were conducted twice a week for two hours for all students. Additionally, girls in the EG were encouraged to engage in Nordic walking four times a week for at least 20 min during their free time, in addition to their regular physical education classes. Every month, the time for Nordic walking was increased by 5 minutes. A high-stakes test of the motor activity for all female students was conducted using the motor activity questionnaire "MAQ – 23+" ("ОДА – 23+"). The state of the CG and girls EG motor qualities was studied using high-stakes testing. Results. At the end of the research project, the average physical activity score increased 2.1 times from 51.0±8.0 to 106.6±11.8 points, p <0.05 among the students of the experimental group, where Scandinavian walking was used during the day, in the control one this increase was 40.7% (from 51.1±8.3 to 71.9±9.8 points). There is an increase in the direct indicators of physical activity of female students and the walking time and distance. At the same time, the increase in the values of physical fitness indicators was greater in the girls of the experimental group, where Scandinavian walking was used during the day, compared with the results in the girls of the control one. By the end of the project, students with a good level of health status are registered among EG girls. Conclusions. The results of the conducted research project can be recommended for use in planning physical activity of young people to improve their health and physical condition.