Sport is good for your health. Here’s everything your child gains from doing 30 minutes of physical activity a day.
- 94% of teachers implementing 30 minutes of daily physical activity in their classroom notice an improvement in children’s well-being.
- 78% of these same teachers observed an improvement in the attention and concentration of their students.
- Today, only 50.7% of young boys and 33.3% of young girls aged 6 to 17 achieve the 60 minutes of daily physical activity recommended by the WHO.
After four years of work which led to proposing and supporting the program “30 minutes of daily physical activity (30’APQ) in primary school” in addition to sports lessons, the organizing committee of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 commissioned an independent study into this development.
30 minutes of physical activity per day improves children’s concentration
“This study, carried out among teachers by the National Observatory of Physical Activity and Sedentary Lifestyle (ONAPS), estimates that the 30 minutes of daily physical activity in primary school constitutes an important step forward in the fight against “insufficiency of physical activity in children and reveals conclusive effects on the fight against the sedentary lifestyle of children and their learning conditions”, can we read in a press release.
The survey was carried out among 1,161 primary school teachers working during the 2022-2023 school year throughout France, with the support of the Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of National Education and the Créteil academy.
It reveals very positive effects: 94% of teachers applying 30 minutes of daily physical activity in their class notice an improvement in children’s well-being, 91% believe that this system makes it possible to reduce a sedentary lifestyle and 82% indicate that it improves student engagement in physical and sporting activity outside of school.
“This last point gives encouraging signs that 30 minutes of physical activity per day contributes effectively to achieving the 60 minutes of daily physical activity recommended by the WHO, that only 50.7% of young boys and 33 .3% of young girls aged 6 to 17 reached this age in 2019 in France.comment the authors of the research.
The ONAPS study also looked at the changes observed in the classroom climate and learning conditions. On these specific points, 78% of teachers observed an improvement in children’s attention and concentration and 79% perceived an improvement in the classroom climate.
How to encourage children to do 30 minutes of physical activity per day?
The research also made it possible to provide interesting information on the concrete methods of applying the measure in schools. Concretely, the 30 minutes of daily physical activity are carried out mainly outdoors, within the school grounds and in the form of active games.
“Among the respondents who benefited from the sports equipment kit distributed free of charge by Paris 2024 and the National Sports Agency to all elementary schools, 74% affirm that it facilitates the implementation of 30 minutes of daily physical activity”, can we read at the end of the report.
