Active for health on the National Sports Day

15 września 2021

Every one in three adult residents of Poland does not undertake any physical activity. The statistics among children are even worse. As many as 81% do not meet the basic recommendations of the World Health Organisation regarding activity. Meanwhile, a daily dose of exercise is one of the easiest ways to support health and wellbeing at any age. The National Sports Day, organised for the ninth time on September 11, 2021, will be a great reminder of that.

The MultiSport Index 2021 survey shows that currently only 68% of inhabitants of Poland are physically active, which means they exercise at least once a month. Lockdown and the period of isolation have made leading an active and healthy lifestyle both a greater challenge and an increasingly urgent need. According to the COVID 365+ report by Ipsos, during the pandemic 43% of Poles gained 5.7 kilograms on average.

An inactive lifestyle is not only one of the reasons for gaining weight but also a risk factor for the development of many diseases of affluence such as type II diabetes, hypertension, or obesity. The World Health Organisation also emphasises that a sedentary lifestyle is the fourth leading cause of death in the world. Therefore, one of the current challenges of WHO is to reduce the phenomenon of social immobility – by at least 10 % by 2025 and 15% by 2030. Recognising the negative impact of the pandemic on physical activity, the WHO changed its recommendations in this regard, recommending adults from 150 to 300 minutes of moderate or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous physical activity during the week.

Physical activity of children

The WHO also has specific recommendations for the physical activity of the younger generation, according to which children between 5 and 18 years of age should engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. Even before the pandemic, 81% of children did not follow these recommendations. Today, after the period of lockdowns and distance learning, the physical condition of the youngest may be at an even lower level.

A survey conducted by the Institute of Mother and Child shows that during the pandemic nearly 40% of children between 11 and 18 years old increased their activity in social media. As many as 60% of children admitted that one of the problems they experienced during the pandemic was boredom while most of them (80%) do not plan their day.

– Today, parents play a special role in building healthy habits among children. For the younger generation the Internet is an easily accessible form of entertainment that requires no effort and provides a lot of stimuli. That is why it becomes such a frequent choice of children and adolescents. However, there is a solution that is good for adults and the youngest. We just have to be an example of an active lifestyle for our children or create opportunities for them to learn various sports disciplines. Then it will be more likely that they will find joy in it. A great solution will also be playing sports together, because in this way, in addition to healthy habits, we build a relationship with the child and devote our time, which in the eyes of children is especially valuable – encourages health psychologist, Mateusz Banaszkiewicz.