Promoting holistic and sustainable physical education and physical activity for children and youth

In 2020 the entire world, for the first time in several decades, was forced to respond to a pandemic which reached almost all countries. Many governments decided to restrict public life and implemented measures to slow down the spread of the virus and its subsequent variants. The restrictions caused severe physical and economic challenges, in addition to this, home schooling increased the emotional stress of young people and parents. The pandemic has left all members of society higher levels of anxiety, perceived stress, and much lower levels of sport and physical activity. Physical education has been dealt a blow during the pandemic and since then has not been able to recover in many places. Young people in and outside the school system have drifted away from the WHO recommended daily dose of physical activity. However, the pandemic has left us with opportunities to explore new evidence-based modes of promoting physical activity, especially among young people. ICSSPE President Dr Uri Schaefer will present the gap between existing scientific evidence regarding the impact of physical activity on development and wellbeing on one hand, and existing policies on the other. He will close his presentation by proposing components for a strategic approach to increase the impact of evidence-based policy development.

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