Motor activity of students in the era of digitalization and after the covid-19 pandemic: current status, determinants and optimization strategies (literature review 2019-2024)

Abstract

This review systematizes current data (2019-2024) on the motor activity of higher education students in the context of two key challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerated digitalization. Analysis of peer-reviewed sources (Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, RSCI,) revealed that a significant proportion of students in the RF and CIS countries have persistently low levels of physical activity that do not meet the WHO's recommendations for global physical activity. The pandemic caused a sharp decrease in motor activity (30-50 %) and an increase in sedentary behavior, with incomplete recovery by 2024. Digitalization, on the one hand, aggravated the problem of physical inactivity (the growth of screen time), on the other hand, it opened up new opportunities (online training, gamification). Key determinants of motor activity are multilevel (individual: lack of time, motivation; social; environmental/organizational: accessibility of infrastructure, quality of physical education. The negative consequences of insufficient motor activity for physical (risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases) and mental health (anxiety, depression, cognitive decline), academic performance have been proven. Effective intervention strategies include the modernization of physical education, the integration of motor activity into the educational process, the development of accessible infrastructure. Overcoming the crisis of student physical inactivity requires an integrated, multi-level approach that takes into account modern realities.