This article presents a sociological survey carried out by the associates of the departments of sociology, political science, and physical education at Perm State Technical University in 1998 to 2003. The purpose of the survey was to study the social and cultural characteristics of the students and their attitudes toward sports and a healthy way of life. Participants of the survey consisted of 686 students in various institutions of higher learning in Perm Oblast and cadets in military institutes. The methods used included interviews, questionnaires, and statistical and graph processing of the data. The results of the survey showed that the overwhelming majority of the students (85.7%) had engaged in sports or were doing so (87.8% of males and 82.6% of females). A total of 95.7 percent of the respondents have a positive attitude toward sports. However, once they enroll in an institution of higher learning, young people generally cease to be actively engaged in sports simply because they carry a heavy study load. For some of them, it is enough to engage in physical education classes to maintain their health. The survey of healthy lifestyle factors showed that attitudes supporting a healthy way of life are steadily weakening, due to changes in the social environment and the decline in the overall standard of living.