Influence of Ecological Conditions on the Physical Activity and Physical Status Of Schoolchildren

Abstract

The modern understanding of physical health is based on the complex biosocial characteristics of the individual, which ensure his active and effective functioning in the social environment. The most socially important goal of the process of physical health is not only high absolute indices of all physiological and psychological systems, but also a high level of adaptability of these systems (Malina, 1989; Moravec,1989). Numerous investigations have produced results which chow quite convincingly that the broader the range of adaptive abilities of the individual, the more quickly and more completely he reacts in conditions of changing environment, the more effectively he copes with physical demands, and the better he is able to overcome a range of different illnesses (Masironi and Denolin, 1985; Zwiren, 1988). Among the many questions which are of current scientific interest, few demand such constant attention from the public and arouse so many arguments as the question of the effect of radiation upon man and his environment. As a result of the accident at the Chernobyl electric power station a great number of radionuclides were released into the atmosphere. The accumulation of such radionuclides in the human organism can induce the development of a range of disturbances in the function of the different organs and body systems. Children most of all are susceptible to the effects of these radionuclides. However, the biological influence of small doses of radiation on children, in particular on their physical development has not been comprehensively investigated. In order to study the possible influence of small radiation doses on the physical state of children, we have conducted some investigations in the Vinnitsa and Zhitomir regions, where the level of radioactive pollution reached 1.5–8.0 c/km2.