Comparative analysis of the level of physical fitness of foreign and Russian university students

The intensification of migration processes in the academic environment in recent years has led to a significant increase in the number of foreign students in Russian universities. The need to integrate foreign students into the national educational environment to ensure their full-fledged training, particularly in Physical Education, requires a close practical study of the initial fitness level of foreign students. The work is aimed at determining the differences in the physical fitness of foreign and Russian students, identifying the causes of such differences and finding ways to manage them. Reliable data were obtained on a lower level of physical fitness of students from India and Egypt compared to Russian students in terms of strength, swiftness, endurance, agility and flexibility. The difference is caused by different approaches to physical education in educational institutions of the countries, difficulties experienced by foreign students in adapting to study in Russian universities, cultural characteristics of foreign students, and their low motivation for physical education and sports. The author proposes the ways to overcome this problem by reducing the intensity of loads in physical education classes for foreign students, and providing the opportunity of choosing a sport for them. The results of the study can serve as a basis for planning the physical education programme for foreign students at the university, taking into account their initial level of physical fitness, ethno-cultural characteristics, their interests and motivation.