Declining Youth Fitness: A Call to Collective Action

Declining Youth Fitness: A Call to Collective Action

It’s an alarming finding backed by a comprehensive review of over 50 international studies conducted between 1964 and 2010: today’s children have poorer cardiovascular fitness than their parents did at the same age. Endurance levels are dropping, and performance in running distances from 800 meters to 3 kilometers is in decline—worldwide, for both boys and girls aged 9 to 17.

For the first time in modern history, we’re seeing a generation of youth who are more sedentary than ever before. And we know what that means: poor cardiovascular health in childhood is a strong indicator of chronic health problems in adulthood, including heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

What’s driving this decline? The evidence points clearly to screen overuse. Tablets, smartphones, video games—these “digital anchors” are keeping kids stuck in their chairs for hours at a time. It’s a global issue that demands local, practical, and urgent solutions.

So what can we do? Act—together. Parents have a vital role to play, but they’re not alone. Schools, municipalities, and sports organizations all have the power to shape environments that encourage daily movement, through accessible activities and motivating infrastructure.

That’s the spirit of the Horizon 2035: A Generation in Motion initiative led by the Centre Multisports. Its mission: to give youth the opportunity to reconnect with the joy of daily physical activity. Just 30 minutes a day—that’s the minimum required to protect their health… and our collective future.

It’s never too late to change. But the time to start is now.