Lack of exercise among young people: Nationwide representative study delivers alarming results
Sport keeps you healthy - this truism is as banal as it is true. But how much exercise is necessary, especially for adolescents? The World Health Organisation recommends around one hour of exercise per day for children and young people. Against this backdrop, a study led by the University of Münster has now produced some worrying figures: The federally funded study on the potential of exercise, play and sport for children and young people to grow up healthily found that fewer and fewer young people (60 per cent) are doing sport regularly in their free time. "This figure is not only surprising, but alarming," emphasises project manager Dr. Dennis Dreiskämper from the Institute of Sports Science.
The study is part of the "Move for Health" project of the German Sports Youth (dsj) and is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) with 300,000 euros. In July and August, over 4,000 households were surveyed: 2,112 parents assessed the exercise behaviour and fitness of their children (aged five to twelve), as well as the parents of 1,978 young people aged 13 to 17 and the young people themselves. A study commissioned by the German Sports Federation last analysed school sport in Germany in 2003 and 2006. Since then, there have been hardly any representative figures in this area. The research team is now presenting the latest figures; the full study will be published in spring 2024 and presented to representatives from politics, science and practice. From the fresh data, the scientists have identified a number of anomalies, particularly among young people.
Most of the young people surveyed rated their state of health positively: Over 95 per cent describe their physical fitness as "excellent" to "good". "Playing sport" is still one of the most popular hobbies among 13 to 17-year-olds. However, it is only in third place (32 per cent) behind "playing games consoles/PCs/smartphones" (41.4 per cent) and "meeting up with friends" (35.5 per cent) - just ahead of the "Internet and social networks" category (30 per cent). Around 57.5 per cent of all young people are members of a sports club.
Against this backdrop, the figures for individual negative feelings are particularly remarkable: around 30 per cent of young people stated that they often feel stressed. Just under 30 per cent also worry often and over five per cent very often. Similar figures were also found in the surveys on feelings of fatigue and exhaustion. "A significant number therefore experience psychosocial stress," explains Dennis Dreiskämper. "Our questions about life satisfaction also revealed a high proportion of dissatisfied young people." For example, twelve per cent stated that they had "rarely/never" felt happy in the past week. "Young people who are active in sport are less likely to be in poor health," explains the sports psychologist. "We found similar results for sports club membership."
The financial situation also has a strong influence on exercise behaviour: Only 43.3 per cent of young people from families who receive benefits are active, while the figure for other young people is just under 63 per cent. "Poverty is a health risk," emphasises the project manager. "That's why we need to create programmes for socially disadvantaged families in particular, so that they can become more active in sports and thus promote their health." The "Healthy Community Altenberge" project is one example: Here, the sports scientists are working closely with the local primary school and community.
The team at the University of Münster is currently in talks with the BMFSFJ and the dsj about continuing the project: the current survey is to be turned into a longitudinal study by conducting the same study again at different times. This would allow the results to be compared with each other in the future. "There have been hardly any reliable figures over the past ten years - in particular, the views of young people themselves have been missing. We want to change that," emphasises Dennis Dreiskämper.
