The government wants to counteract the sedentary lifestyle among young people. “It is essential to reverse the curve,” warns Education Minister Pap Ndiaye in an interview with Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra to the newspaper the parisian and published on Monday. His statements occur when a new study points to the increase in the number of cases of diabetes (+2% each year) and the decrease in the physical capacity of adolescents, as well as an increase in obesity in children (+2% as well) . ).
“The phenomena of a sedentary lifestyle, of the increase in obesity in children, are reversible,” says Pap Ndiaye, however, on the basis of the new conclusions from the study.
The Government calls on professional athletes
The two ministers announced on this occasion the creation of a “30-minute French team”, in reference to the daily goal of half an hour of sports at school that Emmanuel Macron has had for several years. This system of government mobilizes “more than 150” sports personalities according to Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, including the cyclist Audrey Cordon-Ragot, the handball player Jérôme Fernandez, the athlete Sasha Zhoya, the breakdancer Carlota Dudek and the disabled tennis player Pauline Deroulede .
These athletes will have to go to the schools to talk to the students about “their discipline and their path” during two-hour sessions during which “they will participate in a physical activity session with them”, details Amélie Oudéa.-Castera.
Increase in sports time in schools.
This new announcement echoes the measures adopted by the government to reinforce sports time at school, in particular the generalization of 30 minutes of sport a day in primary schools from the start of the school year in September 2022 after two years of experimentation. A decision, however, criticized by the teachers’ unions who had denounced a lack of preparation and of taking into account the realities on the ground. At the same time, 173 universities have been experimenting with two additional hours of sports since November, Pap Ndiaye also recalled during the interview.
“To meet the challenge of a sedentary lifestyle, we need the entire continuum between physical education, school sports, club sports and now times of daily physical activity,” says Amélie Oudéa-Castéra.
According to a study published in 2020 by the National Health Security Agency (Anses), two thirds of young people between the ages of 11 and 17 are, due to an unhealthy lifestyle, “at a high level of risk, which can translate in overweight, obesity, eating disorders or even an altered quality of sleep and life”.
Source: BFM TV
