In what state of physical form are French middle school students? Not terrible, according to one new study published this Monday, February 6. And this is not recent: still according to the study, a marked decrease in the physical capacity of adolescents was observed between 1971 and 2011, a decrease of 0.5% per year, with unprecedented effects on their health. “Young people are increasingly affected by diseases that were previously exclusive to adults., says Professor François Carré, sports cardiologist at the University Hospital of Rennes. Thus, there is a 2% increase each year in the number of adolescents aged 16 to 18 with type 2 diabetes, but also a 15 to 17% increase in obese children.
Even more alarming finding: the WHO ranks France 119e out of 146 countries tested on the physical activity levels of their youth. To confirm (or refute this trend), the cardiologist carried out a study in three French regions (Brittany, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Hauts-de-France) between September and November 2022.the respiratory, cardiovascular and skeletal muscular capacities of nearly 10,000 middle school students aged 6e were evaluated with a shuttle test, a run over 20 meters with a pace increasing as it goes, or the VMA (Maximum Aerobic Speed).
A French team of #30mnPhysical Activitymade up of 150 top athletes, will go to schools to talk about sport and above all practice ⛹ for at least 30 minutes, during this somewhat special visit
More info ⤵️https://t.co/TFSs4hcQqBpic.twitter.com/eVk5US0W0i
– Ministry of Sports (@Sports_gouv) February 6, 2023
What were the lessons of this study? First, the results unfortunately confirmed a deterioration of the physical capacity of adolescents, for both girls and boys. “The numbers are very bad, because at least the physical capacity should remain stable. Today, a 65-year-old subject who is active, without being athletic, would do better than young people”regrets Professor Carré to the Parisian.
To “reverse the curves” and remedy the sedentary lifestyle of young people, individualized split training for two times 15 minutes per week for six weeks has been set up. After this training phase, the improvement in capacity was 1.96% on average in the group of children who did not benefit from the training against 4.64% for the trained group, i.e. a difference of 235%. These results “show that it is possible to quickly reverse this curve by including short-duration individualized physical activity in regular physical education classes”, rejoices the cardiologist. “We must all be aware that we are now faced with a societal tsunami of physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle, which represents a real public health challenge, including for young people.“
What is the “30 minutes of daily activity a day” program?
Since September 2022, the “30 minutes of Daily Physical Activity” program has been generalized in the 36,250 primary schools in the country. As the Paris Olympics in 2024 approach, this measure is part of the construction of a sports Nation but above all wants to reverse the trend and get young children and teenagers moving.
This program offers children the opportunity to practice regular physical activity and encourages them to practice sports in order to fight against the combined, massive and serious increases in sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity.
Sources:
- 30 minutes of daily activity in all schools, GovernmentFebruary 6, 2023
- Study: should personalized physical activity programs be needed to increase the physical abilities of middle school students?, For a fit FranceFebruary 6, 2023