June 28, 2024, 11:39 am | Read time: 6 minutes
Lack of exercise, media addiction, obesity–the health situation of millions of children in Germany is dramatic. This was precisely the topic of discussion at the BILD Children’s Health Summit with experts from health and sports. What do the data say? What must and can be done? And what demands are being made of politics? FITBOOK editorial director Melanie Hoffmann attended the summit and reports on the great commitment to improving the lives of children in Germany.
“Fifteen percent of children in Germany are overweight, six percent are pathologically overweight, meaning obese,” states Dr. Susann Weihrauch-Blüher, spokesperson for the Working Group on Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence (AGA) of the German Obesity Society, citing some hard facts. In absolute numbers, this means that of an estimated 15 million children and adolescents under 18 in Germany, “nearly 2.5 million are overweight and about one million are obese.” An important remedy: exercise. How to promote this among children and adolescents was discussed by representatives of the dsj and DFB together with a school principal from Cologne at the BILD Children’s Health Summit. Other topics: cervical cancer and HPV vaccination, as well as media use and addiction among those under 18.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has further worsened the obesity crisis among children
For years, doctors have warned about the alarming trend of more children becoming pathologically overweight. A trend that the years of the COVID-19 pandemic have further exacerbated. The figures cited by Weihrauch-Blüher are from before the pandemic, and the situation looks even worse today. “About a quarter of the children who were previously of normal weight are now overweight,” revealed the senior physician for pediatric endocrinology and diabetology at University Medicine Halle at the BILD Children’s Health Summit. “Seventy percent of children and adolescents who were already overweight before COVID-19 were also significantly worse off afterward.”
“The school as a place for exercise plays an extremely important role”
In addition to nutrition, exercise is a significant tool in the fight against overweight and obesity. The WHO recently published study results on global physical inactivity. This affects adults as well as children. The consequences of too little exercise are well-known: overweight or obesity and diseases such as diabetes or cardiovascular diseases.
How to address the lack of exercise from a young age was discussed at the BILD Children’s Health Summit by Leon Ries, managing director of the German Sports Youth, Hannes Wolf, director of youth, training, and development at the German Football Association, and André Szymkowiak, principal at the Municipal Gymnasium Cologne-Deutz and winner of the 1st Prize German Teacher Award 2024.
Leon Ries outlined scientifically proven factors why children succeed in joining club sports–or unfortunately do not. These include: gender, education, health or physical impairment, parents’ employment, and receipt of government support. In simplified terms, there are many hurdles why children do not find their way to a sports club and thus have no access to regular exercise.
“The school as a place for exercise plays an extremely important role because we have all the children there, and we do not initially experience this selection as with sports clubs,” emphasized the managing director of the German Sports Youth.
Hannes Wolf and his DFB team of dedicated professional athletes and parents developed a concept–and brought it to the summit–that could simplify sports in schools. The goal: to introduce as many children and adolescents as possible to exercise in everyday school life, even beyond two or three sports lessons. With lots of fun and as little organizational effort as possible. A move that principal André Szymkowiak welcomed, although he unfortunately saw some challenges in implementation.
Also interesting: The healthy effect of 11 minutes of exercise per day
Demand on politics
All sports experts agreed: Without help from the top, a truly effective and lasting solution is not feasible. “From politics, I would like to see a commitment to a society that cares for its children,” explained Ries. “Specifically, I would like to see greater commitment on the issue of sports fields. How many sports fields do we have in Germany that are in need of renovation? We need a policy that does not see sports as a side issue for children but actively takes care of it.”
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Cervical cancer and HPV vaccination
A preventable disease that still needs to be diagnosed too often: cervical cancer. In 2022, it was classified by the WHO as a “cancer we can eliminate.”1 Among those working to make this a reality is Prof. Jalid Sehouli. He is the director of the Clinic for Gynecology with the Center for Oncological Surgery at Charité Berlin.
At the BILD Children’s Health Summit, he spoke about the traumatic experiences that affected patients must endure, as well as preventable risk factors for cervical cancer, such as smoking. He also brought a crucial way to combat the cancer back into focus: the HPV vaccination. This is still not administered enough to girls, but especially to boys. “We also have the opportunity to vaccinate boys in Germany,” said the expert. “This helps because it contributes to the virus being less widespread in the population in general. And this, along with minimizing risk factors for the disease, is the most important strategy against cervical cancer.”
Still concerning media use or already media addiction?
For children to grow into healthy and happy adults, mental health is essential. A topic that Prof. Sabina Schutter, chairwoman of SOS Children’s Villages e.V., brought closer to the attendees at the summit.
A factor that can significantly affect the psyche of children and adolescents is media use. Young people under 18 in Germany spend countless hours daily in front of screens (from smartphones to tablets, laptops, and TVs). Dr. Michael Hubermann, president of the Federal Association of Pediatricians and Adolescent Doctors, also attested to a concerning level of media use among children and adolescents, as well as their parents, who should set an example. Dr. Kerstin Paschke, deputy director of the German Center for Addiction Issues in Childhood and Adolescence at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, explained when one can speak of media addiction. The experts, in conversation with CDU Vice President and Schleswig-Holstein Education Minister Karin Pries, sought solutions together. What can help: limiting media use time? More media competence training in schools?
Some well-intentioned strategies. But far from enough, said Silke Müller, principal and bestselling author: “It’s about much more than the temporal restriction of media use. We need to be aware of the content that children and adolescents are exposed to online–often even within a time frame of half an hour.” From violence to self-esteem-destroying impressions and political propaganda, to pornography and pedophile attacks, everything is represented that one can hardly imagine. “There needs to be a societal outcry here,” was the expert’s conclusion.