Obesity among young people increases lifetime cardiovascular risk. This study assesses the prevalence of overweight/obesity and its associated factors among a random sample of university students from 22 universities in 22 low, middle income and emerging economy countries. This cross-sectional survey comprised of a self-administered questionnaire and collected anthropometric measurements. The study population was 6773 (43.2%) males and 8913 (56.8%) females, aged 16 to 30 years (mean 20.8 years, SD = 2.6). Body mass index (BMI) was used for weight status. Among men, the prevalence of underweight was 10.8%, normal weight 64.4%, overweight 18.9% and obesity 5.8%, while among women, the prevalence of underweight was 17.6%, normal weight 62.1%, overweight 14.1% and obesity 5.2%. Overall, 22% were overweight or obese (24.7% men and 19.3% women). In multivariate regression among men, younger age, coming from a higher income country, consciously avoiding fat and cholesterol, physically inactivity, current tobacco use and childhood physical abuse, and among women older age, coming from a higher income country, frequent organized religious activity, avoiding fat and cholesterol, posttraumatic stress symptoms and physical childhood abuse were associated overweight or obesity. Several gender specific risk factors identified can be utilized in health promotion programmes.

The forced shift to remote learning in universities in March 2020 raised the complex issues of organizing lifelong learning for students, conducting academic assessments and maintaining the stability of the educational institution in general for educational systems of all countries of the world. This paper examines peculiarities and general problems of distance learning in the higher education system. It is based on the materials of the sociological survey “Opinions of Russian universities’ students on the forced distance learning”, conducted in May-June 2020. 31,423 university students in all federal subjects of Russia were interviewed. Analysis of research data covers the following areas: organizational problems of transition to distance learning; resources used, organization of lectures and seminars, assessment of the positive and negative aspects of distance learning; perspectives, limitations and trajectories of distance learning implementation in Russian universities.The article also provides comparative data on the analysis of the issues of distant learning of Russian and foreign researchers. The authors propose future-oriented measures for organizing distance learning in universities in the case of the introduction of quarantine restrictions, consider possible forms of combining distance and full-time education, the prospects for the introduction of digital technologies in the organization of training in universities.

This study seeks to extend the body of knowledge of international and cross-cultural entrepreneurship and management research by testing hypotheses dealing with the degree of variance in cultural values between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in two countries of the former Soviet Union: Russia and Georgia. A total of 867 entrepreneurs, managers, and production employees responded to a survey based on Hofstede's work-related cultural values framework. Significant differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs existed on three of five cultural dimensions: Power Distance, Masculinity, and Long-term Orientation. However, the study also demonstrated that, in international entrepreneurship research, making distinctions between entrepreneurs and the rest of the population is not as fruitful as contrasting entrepreneurs with specific occupational and status groups. Thus, in this study entrepreneurs were, in some cases, different from managers but similar to employees, and, in some other cases, similar to managers but different from employees. An important implication is that some values are deeper rooted in a culture's fabric and are less malleable than others. Thus, for Russia, Power Distance and Masculinity were substantially different from the earlier reported levels, whereas Individualism and Long-term Orientation were close to them. Also, for constructs measured in this study, significant differences were found in entrepreneurial and work-related values between the two countries of the former USSR, despite similarities in economic, political, and ideological legacies.