"Moving Children – Healthier Children" project to be funded for a further three years

The “Active Children – Healthier Children” project is a structurally anchored primary prevention programme that has been running continuously since 2017. It examines the physical fitness of third-year pupils at all primary schools in Thuringia. The aim is to objectively assess the fitness and health of children, derive individual recommendations for action and document long-term trends in physical activity development in the Free State.

Every year, around 16,000 children at over 450 schools take part in standardised physical activity checks as part of the project. Endurance, coordination, speed, jumping and throwing power, and balance are tested. The results are evaluated anonymously and reported back to the children as individual fitness profiles with recommendations and to the schools in aggregated form. On this basis, targeted support measures and cooperation with the Thuringian State Sports Federation are implemented. Testing remains at the core of the project in the new funding phase. In addition, new interventions are planned to expand the core testing. These include, in particular, the influence of short exercise breaks on cognitive performance.

“Our project helps to highlight regional, socio-economic, gender-specific and physical differences in physical fitness and to strengthen equal opportunities in the educational process,” explains Dr Florian Bähr. “At the same time, it raises awareness among children, parents and schools about the importance of exercise and health.”

The results are published regularly at bekigeki.github.io.