Children and adolescents across Europe are failing to reach adequate levels of physical fitness, with researchers identifying declines in strength, flexibility and body composition over recent decades.
The findings raise concerns about the long-term health of younger generations, as fitness during childhood and adolescence can influence cardiovascular health, body composition and mortality risk later in life.
Decades of fitness data examined
Researchers at the University of Zaragoza analysed data from 417,362 children and adolescents aged between six and 16 across 20 European countries.
The study, published in Sports Medicine – Open, examined data collected between 1965 and 2023. It assessed changes in muscular strength, flexibility, body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness.
According to the researchers, paediatric health-related physical fitness has generally declined since 1990, with several indicators now at levels below those recorded in previous decades.
Strength and flexibility decline
Upper-body strength has broadly fallen since the 1970s. The trend briefly stabilised between 1980 and 2000 before declining again.
Lower-body strength, assessed through jumping tests, improved until the 1980s but has steadily weakened since then.
Flexibility showed the most pronounced deterioration, with a continuous decline that accelerated after 2000.
Researchers also identified a consistent increase in body fat. They noted that this trend may be underestimated when body mass index alone is used to assess children’s body composition.
Cardiorespiratory fitness may be stabilising
Cardiorespiratory fitness, which reflects the ability of the heart, lungs and blood vessels to supply oxygen during sustained physical activity, also declined over the longer term.
However, data collected between 2015 and 2023 suggest that the downward trend may have stabilised. Despite this improvement, levels remain lower than those recorded in earlier decades.
The authors warned that the overall decline represents a missed opportunity to protect children’s current and future health.
“These findings reinforce the need to step up efforts to promote physical activity through public institutions,” the researchers said.
Most adolescents fall short of WHO target
Physical fitness during childhood and adolescence is considered an important indicator of future health. Cardiorespiratory endurance and a healthy body composition are associated with improved cardiovascular health and a lower risk of premature death, while muscular strength is linked to healthier body composition.
The World Health Organization recommends that children and adolescents complete at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each day. Muscle and bone-strengthening activities should also be included at least three times a week.
However, more than 75% of European adolescents do not meet these recommendations.
Globally, physical inactivity accounts for an estimated 6% of the disease burden from coronary heart disease, 7% from type 2 diabetes and 10% from both breast and colon cancer. It is also linked to 9% of premature deaths, 7.2% of deaths from all causes and 7.6% of cardiovascular deaths.
Source: Euronews.
