Strengthening Children's Coordination and Balance in Everyday Life

Plain-language summary

The World Health Organization recommends that children and teenagers aged 5 to 17 should be physically active for at least 60 minutes every day. This should include activities that make them breathe harder, as well as exercises that strengthen muscles and bones. National guidelines in Austria and Germany also highlight the importance of basic movement skills such as endurance, strength, coordination, and balance. Regular physical activity is important for children's physical and mental health. It can help prevent problems such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. It can also support learning, concentration, and school performance. However, many children do not move enough. In Austria and Germany, only a small number of children and teenagers meet the recommended activity levels. Because of this, many programs have been created to encourage children to be more active, for example through active breaks, park activities, or sports clubs. These programs often include simple movement games, warm-up exercises, and strengthening exercises such as squats. Balance and coordination exercises are used less often. Also, many programs mainly count how many children take part, but they do not always measure how the programs improve children's movement skills. This study therefore looks at whether targeted balance and coordination training improves the motor skills of children aged 6 to 11 in school sports. It will compare this training with strength training. Over four weeks, children will take part in one of the two training programs. Their motor skills, such as coordination, strength, flexibility, and endurance, will be tested before and after the program. The study will also look at how the children's general physical activity level influences their motor development.

Who can participate

What they're measuring

Trial details