Cardiovascular diseases are currently the primary cause of death in the world taking 17 million lives a year. The year 2015 is the National Year Against Cardiovascular Diseases in Russia.

What helps your heart be healthy? Professor Timur Zefirov, Chair of the Department of Health Protection, give some tips.

“More positive emotions, more physical activity. Monitor your weight. Do not overdo eating and drinking alcohol, spend more time outdoors. These simplest and cheapest ways of everyday behavior can help you save health and labor ability for a long time.

Walking is the most useful sport. There are absolutely no contra-indications to that. A human being of any age and health has to spend 1 – 1.5 hours a day walking. That will be about 5 to 8 kilometers. Walking to your job is one good way to follow the regimen. The same goes for lunchtime. Of course, cycling and swimming are two other very beneficial activities.

We plan to conduct a comparative health study of students of different institutes. Who is more healthy – humanities or natural sciences students? Here we have IT people, choreographers, historians, musicians, geologists, chemists. It's very exciting to explore people of different lifestyles and interests.

I wish everybody – students and faculty – to care more about their and their colleagues' health. Not only physical inactivity or obesity are detrimental to your health but also stress, something we are all familiar with. This means that being an optimist is good for you!”