As we approach the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it seems appropriate to be wondering about the health of our children.
The physical condition is defined as:
“A level of mental health where you can carry out your daily tasks with vigor and alertness, without excessive fatigue, and with enough energy to enjoy leisure activities and respond to unexpected emergencies.“
Health-related fitness includes several components, such as:
- Cardiopulmonary function (cardiopulmonary endurance)
- Musculoskeletal health (strength, endurance, flexibility)
- Athletic ability (speed, agility, coordination, balance)
- Certain anthropometric characteristics (e.g. body composition, including fat mass and lean mass).
Physical fitness is widely proven to be a strong indicator of the current and future health status of children and adolescents. However, a trend towards a decline in children’s physical fitness has been observed in recent decades. What is the actual situation in France?
Physical condition: a key indicator of children’s health
In fact, physical fitness is associated with a range of health benefits: high levels of physical fitness therefore reduce the risk of developing the most common chronic diseases and increase life expectancy.
Among the various components of physical fitness, cardiorespiratory endurance is the ability of the heart and lung systems to deliver oxygen to the various muscles used during prolonged physical activity, allowing one to perform prolonged, intense physical activity without undue fatigue.
Cardiorespiratory fitness has been found to have one of the strongest associations with health in childhood and adulthood, and research also shows that higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness have a positive impact on mental health.
Moreover, several recent large-sample studies have confirmed previous findings that cardiorespiratory fitness in childhood and adolescence is associated with total mortality and with cardiovascular disease and cancer-related mortality in adulthood. The authors also showed that low physical fitness in adolescence is strongly associated with the presence of a disability and receipt of a disability pension in adulthood.
Therefore, cardiorespiratory fitness is the most relevant factor for health, and its measurement is necessary to better assess the health status of children. In 2020, scientific experts from the American Heart Association emphasized the importance of regularly assessing it.
Cardiorespiratory fitness in children: how to assess it?
Cardiorespiratory fitness can be assessed through laboratory or field testing.
- Laboratory testing is not suitable for epidemiological investigations because it is costly, time-consuming and there are a limited number of laboratories with trained staff and appropriate equipment.
- Field testing appears to be a good alternative means of assessing cardiorespiratory fitness in children, especially in school settings.
- To assess this, different field tests have been used, including long or long distance running tests and so-called “shuttle” running tests, the most common being the 20 meter shuttle running test developed by Luc Léger and his collaborators.
The test involves children running back and forth between two lines, 20 metres apart, until they exhaust themselves. The test starts at a speed of 8.5 km/h and increases by 0.5 km/h every minute. The pace of the race is determined by a soundtrack.
When the child can no longer keep up with this pace, the test ends. The speed reached in the last completed stage is recorded. This corresponds to the Maximal Aerobic Speed (MAS) in km/h and reflects maximum cardiorespiratory fitness.
Poor performance in France
The cardiorespiratory fitness of French children has declined significantly since 1999, but the decline appears to be slowing.
Because cardiorespiratory fitness is an important indicator of the health of children today and later in adulthood, these current trends likely reflect the health status of the population and can provide insight into public health recommendations and the effectiveness of fitness and physical activity interventions and programs.
A recent study collected data on cardiorespiratory fitness measurements taken on 15,420 children between 1999 and 2023. The study showed that there was a significant decline (18.4%) in cardiorespiratory fitness among French children during this period.
But there is one positive aspect: this decline seems to have slowed since 2010. Therefore, preventive health efforts need to continue within the framework of public policies to further reduce poor health among children.
How do you keep your child in shape?
Several approaches can be considered to improve children’s health capital.
Fight excess weight
Although the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in France appears to have stagnated, it remains high, which has a direct impact on the physical fitness levels of French children.
Combating a sedentary lifestyle
In recent years, the amount of time spent in sedentary activities (lying or sitting outside of sleep or in front of a screen) has increased significantly among young people, but this sedentary lifestyle has a very detrimental effect on their cardiopulmonary function.
Promoting sporting activities in clubs and associations
Previous studies have shown that joining a child to a sports club can lead to beneficial changes in their physical condition.
Promoting so-called “active” travel
Children who used so-called “active” transport – walking or cycling from home to school – were in better shape than those who used “passive” transport such as cars or buses.
Adjusting school schedules
A European study assessed the impact of two different school rhythms (long and short hours spent in school) on children’s physical fitness: long periods were days when school finished after 3pm and included several long breaks, and short periods were days when children finished before 3pm and had very few breaks.
Children with longer school schedules (ending after 3pm and including several long breaks) have been shown to have better cardiovascular endurance than those with shorter school schedules (ending before 3pm and including few breaks).
Creating a good school environment
Improving the school environment, such as dividing up playgrounds, separating exercise areas, and providing sports equipment within playgrounds, can also help improve children’s physical fitness.
Enjoying the legacy of Paris 2024
The “30 minutes of physical activity a day” program in primary schools, which was launched in September 2020 as part of legacy measures for the Paris 2024 Games, could also be a potential means of improving physical fitness.
However, to measure any beneficial effects, it would be necessary to institute standardized and validated assessments of children’s physical condition and repeat them over a long period of time, for example as part of regular monitoring of the health of the French population.
This article was first published on The Conversation by Vanhelst Jeremie, Lecturer in STAPS at Sorbonne Paris-North, and Jean-Michel Aupair, Head of PUPH and Nutrition at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital of the Sorbonne.
