Objective — to study the health-improving potential of activities at school-age sporting schools. Material and methods. The investigators studied morbidity rates and physical development in 1293 students aged 7 to 17 years from Yekaterinburg sporting schools on the basis of medical examinations, as well as health self-assessments by 901 athletes aged 10 to 17 years according to the survey results. All the athletes engaged in training programs pursuant to their sports specialization. The investigators compared data on morbidity rates in the athletes with the results of medical examinations in the Yekaterinburg schoolchildren, as well as data on physical development and health self-assessments with those of their own studies among schoolchildren uninvolved in sports. Student’s t-test, chi-square test, and odds ratio were used. Results. The proportion of children having the accelerated physical development corresponding to body weight gain, as well as the average or higher than average values of vital capacity and hand strength was higher in the children going in for sports than in the control group; the greatest differences were observed in 15—17-year-old adolescents. Overall morbidity rates in the athletes were lower than those in the schoolchildren (76±1.2 and 130.6±0.1, respectively, per 100 surveyed persons. In the comparison groups, morbidity rates rose with age, but the increasing morbidity rates were lower in the athletes. However, the athletes showed the higher incidence of circulatory system diseases, injuries, poisoning, and certain other consequences of external causes. They also had higher self-assessments that did not differ significantly from those in different age groups; the health self-assessments worsened with age in the comparison group. Conclusion. The findings are generally suggestive of the health-improving potential of school-age sporting activities, as well as of the risks associated with the higher rates of injuries and circulatory system diseases.