Promotion of a healthy lifestyle in Russia and China The first results of COVID-19 and trends in the post-COVID economy

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only become a test for all mankind, but also gave reason to rethink the attitude to their health not only for people from the high-risk category, but also for everyone. Before the pandemic, the concept of a healthy lifestyle was gaining a powerful economic momentum (popularization of communities associated with fitness products, advertising, healthy products, etc.). But has the trend changed after the restrictions were eased? The purpose of this paper is to find out whether the healthy lifestyle concept affected the preservation of the health of the nation during the pandemic (is there a link between the level of national health and the degree of resistance to pandemics?). The study focuses on two countries — Russia and China. The difference in the population’s perception of the healthy lifestyle concept, promotion of a healthy lifestyle at the governmental level, and the assessment of its effectiveness are determined based on the analysis of secondary statistical data, a survey of 1,230 respondents from Russia and China in late 2020 — early 2021, as well as using econometric factor analysis. The results obtained can be scaled to the rest of the BRICS countries in order to adapt existing state programs to preserving the health of nations in the future.