Health-enhancing physical activity for improving the functional and reserve capacities of schoolchildren

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Objective : To provide a theoretical and experimental basis for using health-enhancing physical activity to improve the functional and reserve capacities of the organism of 11- to 12-year-old schoolchildren, while accounting for the types of autonomic heart rate regulation. Material and methods . The study involved 60 fifth-grade boys (11–12 years old) from School No. 32 in Togliatti; these children were divided into an intervention group (IG, n=30) and a control group (CG, n=30). Over a 6-month period, the IG participated in a type-specific corrective and developmental exercise program. This regimen included tailored exercises routines designed for each of the four types of autonomic regulation (I – moderate sympathicotonia; II – severe sympathicotonia; III – normotonia; IV – vagotonia). The CG followed the standard school curriculum supplemented with sports games. Functional assessment included heart rate variability (HRV) analysis, as well as the evaluation of functional reserves, oxygen saturation, and the maximum hypoxic index. Measurements were carried out at baseline and at the end of the experiment. Results . At baseline, both groups exhibited low functional reserves (65–74% of the expected value), reduced oxygen saturation (93–94%), and low hypoxic resistance. After 6 months of training, the IG showed significant improvements across all metrics, which shifted to the average range: functional reserves increased to 75–85%, saturation reached 95–96%, and the hypoxic index improved to average values (75–85% efficiency level). Conversely, the CG showed no significant changes: all metrics remained at their initially low levels. Differences between IG and CG at end of the experiment were statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion . Implementing an individualized approach based on HRV analysis which features tailored physical workloads matching each type of autonomic regulation is effective in increasing the functional reserves of schoolchildren. Conversely, the standard physical education program does not yield significant improvements. The value of health-enhancing physical activity lies in personalized health management, where exercise workloads provide a controlled training stimulus to restore regulatory mechanisms and prevent maladaptive states.