Fitness in primary school age: How unathletic our children are

Children are less athletic and less mobile than in the years before the pandemic. The Baden-Württemberg Children’s Gymnastics Foundation has published its new fitness barometer – with these results.

It is not the only activity of the primary school in the district of Schwäbisch Hall. “Exercise and sport is one of our three main topics,” says the headmaster. As a passionate sportsman and long-time teacher, he knows from experience how much more concentrated children are in class if they have exerted themselves physically beforehand. For this reason, the school largely avoids frontal teaching. Instead, there are many learning games and exercise breaks: “If the children become inattentive and fidgety, for example, the lesson is interrupted – and they go out into the playground,” says Marstaller. In addition, the curriculum includes at least four field trips and several action weeks spread over the school year, during which the students are introduced to opportunities for exercise.

The children lack strength and endurance

This is where many other children in this age group are seriously lacking: The recently published Fitness Barometer 2024 by the Baden-Württemberg Children’s Gymnastics Foundation shows that children in the southwest have significantly declined in terms of mobility, strength and endurance compared to previous generations. Since the first test in 2012, data has been collected from more than 37,700 children from 276 locations, which corresponds to around five percent of three- to ten-year-olds in the state.

Jumping from a standing position – as far as your own body length. This was no problem for children a few years ago. “They often jumped even further,” says sports scientist Klaus Bös from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), who is also the test author of the fitness barometer. Today, ten-year-olds hardly ever cover the distance of one meter and 40 centimeters. “The children also performed worse in the 20-meter sprint and when it came to running fast for six minutes,” says Bös. The drop in performance has been significant since the corona pandemic.

Children move less than an hour a day

The consequences of the lockdown are far from over: “I have assumed so far that after the end of the pandemic we can only speak of a corona dip,” says Bös. But other studies have now shown that the restrictions on sports and games during the pandemic have already led to behaviors that are sometimes maintained permanently.

In January, the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) warned that even before the pandemic, young people in Germany and Europe were doing less than the one hour of exercise a day recommended by the World Health Organization. With the start of the pandemic, the amount of time spent exercising fell by an average of around a quarter. Another finding: the older the children got, the less they exercised.

Younger children like to move

“We urgently need to think about how we can encourage children to be more physically active,” says Bös. It doesn’t take much: a ball, a rope or a climbing frame could be enough. Or a tree trunk at the side of the road – to balance on. “Younger children in particular really like to move,” says the exercise expert. It is important that they are guided and motivated.

There is a lack of opportunities: for example, because there are not enough places in cities for free play or because children are not taught well enough how important physical exercise is for their own development. Daily life has also become more intense, and parents often do not have the time to go out with their children in the afternoon after kindergarten, school and work.

Proportion of obese children increases

Statistically speaking, families with a higher level of education pay more attention to ensuring that their children exercise – whether at school or in a sports club. In schools, on the other hand, the authors of the fitness barometer found that more emphasis is placed on cognitive performance than on sport.

“Our children are already sitting themselves ill in primary school,” warns Thomas Kauth, a pediatrician in Ludwigsburg who worked on the current fitness barometer. The doctor has focused on sports and nutritional medicine and knows: “The amount of exercise is significantly reduced due to the constant sitting, reading and learning.” The number of children in this age group who are already struggling with overweight or even obesity is increasing. This “jump in weight” is alarming.

Children learn better when they move

It is a scientific truism that children learn better when they move: This activates motor centers in the brain, which are also important for information processing and storage. If children discover the joy of movement at an early age and this is encouraged, they will retain this joy into adulthood, says Bös. This is an important prerequisite for a healthy life.

Politicians are slow to provide help

So far, politicians have been very reserved on this issue: There was a national exercise summit initiated by the federal government in 2022. But nothing more has come out of it than an assurance that they want to collect ideas on how to motivate children to enjoy exercise more, complains Bös. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has also announced that, in view of the increasing number of overweight children as a result of the pandemic, he will promote physical education and the work of sports clubs more.

Schools are therefore required to take initiative in many areas – as in Michelfeld: There, for example, the headmaster Marstaller sat down with the mayor of the municipality, the churches and the sports clubs. “We are lucky that our exercise concept is supported and co-designed by the entire municipality,” says Marstaller. Everyone takes part. This means that exercise is not only a matter of course in everyday school life.

How fitness is measured

Fitness barometer
The children’s gymnastics foundation’s fitness check includes a motor skills test – such as the 20-meter race, jumping from a standing position or the trunk bend, where the children bend their upper body as far down as possible. They are also checked to see whether they can balance backwards or how quickly and continuously they can jump sideways from side to side. Push-ups, sit-ups and a six-minute run should be manageable for elementary school children.

Movement
At kindergarten age, children should exercise for at least 180 minutes a day – in everyday life, in their free time and through activities such as children’s gymnastics. At primary school age, 60 minutes of exercise should be covered in everyday life, and a further 30 minutes through playing in their free time or through activities such as club sports. All age groups should also exercise two to three times a week – for example by going on a bike ride. The Children’s Gymnastics Foundation shows how parents can be active with their children online: www.kinderturnstiftung-bw.de/bewegungsideen/