Children can no longer run, they quickly become out of breath
Children can no longer run, they quickly become out of breathThe Media in 4-4-2 - Dec 17, 2023
“The children can no longer run, after a minute, they are out of breath! »: A medical advisor resigns to sound the alarm.
Sophie Cha recently chose to return her white coat, resigning from her role as medical advisor within DRAJES de Bretagne. His departure scheduled for December 31 turns out to be a powerful cry of warning.
For eight years, she held this crucial position within the Regional Academic Delegation of Youth Engagement and Sport of Brittany, noting a constant deterioration of the situation. The observation is serious: the physical condition of young people has declined by 25% in 40 years, a worrying decline with potentially fatal consequences.
Sophie Cha highlights the alarming observation of physical education teachers: young people no longer achieve simple feats, such as running for more than a minute without being out of breath, or performing basic movements such as a roll. This trend, observed for more than two decades, seriously threatens the future health of this generation.
WHO recommendations state that children and adolescents should engage in at least 60 minutes of sustained physical activity per day, as well as muscle and bone activities three times per week. However, more than three quarters of adolescents do not respect these recommendations, notes Sophie Cha.
This deterioration manifests itself from a very young age: children are increasingly sedentary, preferring to be transported in a stroller rather than walking. This lack of activity impacts the bone constitution and overall health of children, warns the doctor.
She points the finger at physical education exemptions, although officially abolished since 1988, but still applied in practice. For Sophie Cha, sport should be treated like any other compulsory subject, without systematic exemption. She underlines the paradox: we do not exempt a student with difficulty in mathematics, we help them to progress, why would this not be the case for sport?
This physical regression of young people has repercussions not only on their physical health, but also on their mental health. Epidemiological surveys reveal an alarming increase in mental disorders among young people, with prescriptions for antidepressants and anxiolytics increasing exponentially.
