Only about 17 percent of teenagers in Poland achieve an appropriate level of daily physical activity. As pointed out by experts at the Institute of Mother and Child (IMiD), less than half of younger children follow physical activity guidelines. At the same time, the percentage of overweight and obese children is growing, and, according to some studies, can reach up to 40 percent among early school age children. A few European countries, including Poland, are carrying out the B-challenged project, whose aim is to increase the physical activity of children through measures co-created with local communities, especially in less privileged districts of large cities.
“For years, we have seen a decline in children’s physical activity. This applies to both moderate activity, which everyone can do every day without much effort, such as walks, active ways of getting to school, playing outdoors, and to vigorous activity, which should result in a considerable heart rate increase and take up at least three hours a week,” Anna Dzielska, PhD, Assistant Professor, Acting Head of Department of Child and Adolescent Health, Institute of Mother and Child, emphasised in a conversation with Newseria.
According to the current guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO), children and adolescents should practise moderate or vigorous physical activity on average for 60 minutes a day. This should include primarily aerobic activity, and exercises strengthening muscles and bones should be performed at least three times a week. Every form of movement counts, from spontaneous play to active ways of getting to school and limiting the amount of time spent in a seated position.
Global Matrix Card 4.0 data demonstrate that only a small percentage of young people follows the recommendation of moving for 60 minutes a day for a whole week. According to the HBSC 2017/2018 study, in Poland the share was 17.2 percent of adolescents aged 11–15. As far as the youngest children are concerned, the pilot study carried out for the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, among children aged three to six, the share was from 15.8 to 19.3 percent.
“We carried out a study at the Institute of Mother and Child for which we used accelerometers – physical activity measurement tools. We thought that children are more active out of their natural need to move, but it turned out that only 45 percent of eight-year-olds met the criteria, which is very low,” Anna Dzielska, PhD, pointed out.
Spontaneous outdoor activity of children is also on a decline. Not so long ago, daily play in the yard, playground or sports field was a natural part of childhood. Now more and more often children spend time at home, they go out on their own less often, they have less opportunities for unplanned physical exercise, and their daily lives are to a larger extent filled with sitting activities, especially those associated with using screen devices.
“From 47 to 53 percent of children have at least two hours of active play a day, which is the recommended level,” IMiD expert said. “We see the consequences in every dimension of health – physical, social and mental.”
The NASK report indicates that adolescents spend online almost five hours a day on weekdays, and even more on weekends. This means less time for physical activity and sleep, resulting in a lower physical fitness level of children and adolescents. The study of school children’s physical activity carried out at the request of the Ministry of Sports and Tourism shows that fitness levels today are substantially worse than in previous decades – for instance, in long jump from standing tests, children achieve worse results than their peers 25 years ago. Boys and girls in 1999 were able to make a longer jump than in 2024, with differences up to over 20 cm, which means an approx. 10-20 percent decline.
A recent study carried out by the University of Physical Education (AWF) in Warsaw as part of the project “WF z AWF (PE with AWF)” indicates that over 90 percent of children in Poland are not comprehensively prepared to an active lifestyle, and only 12–30 percent are able to correctly perform basic movement-based activities such as running, jumping or ball throwing. 60 percent of children do not participate in any out-of-school activities, and physical activity in many schools is limited to PE classes.
“All reports in Poland demonstrate that young people are poorly prepared for physical activity. Children are obese, cannot jump or run, not to mention forward rolls or hand stands. These are basic things children should learn at school age. Today children and driven to and from school, and spend little time outdoors. Mobile phones and multimedia take up their time. We should turn this upside down,” said Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak, Member of the European Parliament from the Civic Coalition.
As emphasised by experts, physical activity is of key importance for children’s health and development. It influences physical form as well as cognitive functions and wellbeing. This is confirmed, among others, by recent analyses published in 2025 in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (Springer Nature), which emphasise that moving regularly improves cardiovascular system efficiency and muscle and bone development, while also supporting mental health and cognitive functioning of young people.
“Spontaneous movement reduces the risk of overweight and obesity, which is a major problem among children, especially in early school age”. Approx. 40 percent of children at this age are overweight or obese. This is an opportunity to build social relations, as during play we must make decisions, build social ties, find ourselves in various roles and manage them. It also forms space for a positive development of mental health through managing emotions and stress and building mental resilience,” Anna Dzielska, PhD, mentioned.
Physical activity level is influenced by many factors, including gender and socioeconomic conditions. Options of spending time outdoors play a significant role as one of the key elements conducive to an active lifestyle. As emphasised by IMiD experts, children growing up in less affluent districts more rarely engage in such activities due to, among others, limited access to safe and attractive spaces and extracurricular activities. Such neighbourhoods are often characterised by easy access to cheap, highly processed food, which additionally influences the lifestyle and health of young people.
The B-challenged project focusses on these challenges through activities tailored to local conditions and created together with local residents. It focusses on children aged 6–12 growing up in districts in which barriers to access to activities and healthy choices are the greatest. In Poland, Praga-Północ in Warsaw is an example of such neighbourhoods.
“The B-challenged project assumes a multisectoral approach aiming to increase the time children spend actively playing outdoors. It focusses on less affluent neighbourhoods at risk of exclusion in large cities of European countries. We engage both children and adults in the process, including decision-makers. Together, they identify the factors that can influence whether children in a given neighbourhood want to go outside,” explained the Acting Head of Department of Child and Adolescent Health, Institute of Mother and Child.
B-challenged in an international research and implementation project carried out as part of the ERA4Health – HealthEquity programme. It covers four European countries – Poland, the Netherlands, Spain and Denmark, and is carried out by an international consortium consisting of scientific and research institutions from these countries. The Institute of Mother and Child is in charge of the project in Poland.“Children and adults have identified various factors associated with infrastructure, safety and parents’ concerns associated with their children going outside. The next step will be designing an intervention. “We don’t know yet what it will be: it can refer to infrastructure, safety improvements or other feasible factors which adults, decision-makers and children will consider important,” Anna Dzielska, PhD, indicated.