WHO physical activity recommendation: Children need exercise to grow up healthy

Physical inactivity is still one of the biggest risk factors for many diseases worldwide. These include not only overweight and obesity, but also cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis in later life. To prevent these, the World Health Organization published an action plan on 16 November 2020 with recommendations for daily physical activity for all age groups to help people keep their bodies fit and healthy. Children in particular benefit from regular physical activity in the long term, which is why parents and guardians should consider the WHO guidelines as the basis for their activities. In this article, we summarize what the WHO physical activity recommendation for children include.

Table of contents

• What is the WHO?
• WHO physical activity recommendation – guidelines for all age groups
• Changes to the guidelines in 2020
• What does the WHO recommend for children?
• WHO physical activity recommendation for endurance and weight training – it’s all in the mix
• Dealing with the WHO physical activity recommendation: adapting performance is allowed

What is the WHO?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations that deals with international public health. With its headquarters in Geneva, over 160 country offices and 8000 employees, the World Health Organisation engages in issues such as combating diseases and promoting general health worldwide. This includes, for example  

• the coordination of national and international measures in the fight against communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis and influenza
• initiating global vaccination programmes, such as the vaccination against Covid-19
• implementing programmes to combat health risk factors such as smoking and obesity
• collecting and analysing global health and disease data to compile sound statistics
• supporting the development of the most effective and cost-efficient healthcare systems in developing countries

WHO physical activity recommendation – guidelines for all age groups

Changes to the guidelines in 2020

The current WHO physical activity recommendation is a revised version of the WHO guidelines for physical activity from 2010. New in the guidelines since 2020 are explicit recommendations to reduce sedentary activities, especially in connection with screen time during leisure time, which should be reduced and partly replaced by physical activity.

What does the WHO recommend for children?

For children and adolescents aged 5 to 17, the WHO recommends 60 minutes of moderate to intensive exercise every day. Children should do this type of exercise at least three days a week to effectively develop their muscles, strengthen bones and keep tendons flexible. 

WHO physical activity recommendation for endurance and weight training – it’s all in the mix

The main focus of the exercise recommendation is on endurance sport, which promotes the body’s ability to perform over a longer period of time. It strengthens the cardiovascular system, improves blood circulation and stimulates the metabolism. However, elements of weight training should also be incorporated into the weekly activity to strengthen the muscles and give the body stability. People who occasionally do weight training are generally less prone to injury, as well-trained muscles have an effect on mobility and make the body feel better. Endurance and strength training therefore offer health benefits that complement each other perfectly. Both should therefore be practised for comprehensive physical fitness.

Note on sport with children: Endurance and strength training with children should not be considered a type of sport, as is the case with adults who regularly visit the gym, for example. Instead, exercise for children should be playful. Therefore, emphasise the variety of movement sequences and motivate children to do movements that work their muscles. This could be, for example, hanging and climbing in the playground or games such as tug-of-war.

Dealing with the WHO physical activity recommendations: adjusting performance is allowed

The WHO exercise recommendations are, as the name suggests, recommendations. The information on exercise frequency and duration should therefore be understood as an ideal case. Not all children are physically and mentally able to fulfil these requirements. In particular, heavy and untrained children often do not manage to engage in regular intensive exercise. However, a low fitness level should not demotivate children. The following applies in these cases:

• A low level of physical activity is better than no activity at all.
• If children and adolescents are not able to exercise according to the recommendations, even a small amount of physical activity is good for their health.
• In particular, children and adolescents with low fitness levels should start with small amounts of physical activity and increase the frequency, intensity and duration over time.
• It is important to provide all children and young people with safe and equitable opportunities for physical activity and to encourage them to participate in physical activities that are fun, varied and appropriate to their age and ability.

Do your children prefer to spend the day on the sofa rather than being physically active? In our blog post “Motivating children to exercise – here’s how!” you will find helpful tips on how to bring more exercise into everyday life. Have a read if you like.