For roughly six decades, European children have been in poorer physical shape. A recent study conducted in Spain indicates that both their current health and their future health could be at risk. Which indicators of physical health are affected by this trend?
A Global Decline at Work Since 1990
European children and adolescents are not achieving adequate levels of fitness, particularly with regard to flexibility, strength, and body composition. This points to a global decline at play since the 1990s. This conclusion comes from a team of researchers at the University of Zaragoza (Spain), whose work was published in Sports Medicine – Open on June 20, 2026.
As part of these studies, the scientists analyzed—over the period 1965-2023—the data of 417,362 participants aged 6 to 16 years living in about twenty European countries. The data in question relate to the main indicators of physical health, namely muscular strength, flexibility, body composition, and cardiorespiratory capacity. Indeed, these indicators determine both current and future health of children and adolescents.
“Physical fitness is an important indicator of health during childhood and adolescence. Several components of physical fitness have shown downward trends, with periods of acceleration or stabilization depending on the component.”, reads the study.
A Deterioration of Strength and Flexibility
According to the authors, upper-body strength has generally declined since the 1970s, despite a brief stabilization between 1980 and 2000. As for lower-body strength, there was an increase up to the 1980s, followed by a continued decline. Furthermore, while the body mass index (BMI) is often used, the researchers considered another trend often overlooked: the increase in fat mass, here equating to a constant and linear deterioration. For the scientists, the most concerning trend relates to flexibility, which has been in perpetual decline and has accelerated since 2000.
The authors also analyzed the evolution of cardiorespiratory capacity, that is, the ability of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels to supply oxygen efficiently to muscles during prolonged physical activity. The results showed that after a long decline, the trend appears to have stabilized since 2015.
The Necessity to Strengthen Promotion of Physical Activity
For the scientists, the results of their work show that efforts to promote physical activity by public authorities must be reinforced. It should be noted that robust cardiorespiratory endurance and a healthy body composition during childhood and adolescence are more closely linked to a positive cardiovascular profile, thereby reducing mortality risks as they transition into adulthood. The same observation applies to muscular strength.
Let us recall, however, that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that young people engage in daily physical activity of about one hour (moderate intensity). Yet, this activity should ideally include muscle- and bone-strengthening exercises, at least three times per week. And yet, as many as 75% of European youths do not meet these very recommendations.
