Science and Culture Minister Petri Honkonen (Centre) and Member of Parliament Sinuhe Wallinheimo (Kok) agree. Finns should move more.
The physical performance of Finnish children has been measured again. The results are not flattering. Illustration image. Adobe Stock / AOP
The government and the opposition are united for once.
The latest report of the Move! measurement, which examines the physical performance of children and young people, is a worrying read.
According to the study, 40 percent of fifth and eighth graders have a level of physical functioning that can create challenges for coping in everyday life.
– This is a serious message about how badly the corona era has taken the health of young people, Minister of Science and Culture Petri Honkonen (central) states.
On the same lines, the member of parliament of the Coalition is also on the same lines Sinuhe Wallinheimo.
– I’m starting to lose faith if this trend continues.
A change of attitude is needed
Minister of Science and Culture Petri Honkonen (center) wants to change society’s attitude. Henri Kärkkäinen
Honkonen reminds that the ministry has taken many different measures to correct the problem. A lot of different projects and projects that encourage movement and make it easier have been presented.
– It cannot be said that the state has been inactive, Honkonen emphasizes.
So far, no means have made the course turn. Honkonen is also pushing for a big societal change in attitude.
– Money and legislation alone do not solve the problem. Everything must start from the fact that the citizens themselves want to move.
Honkonen cites the decrease in daily exercise as a big problem.
– For example, there are situations where a child who plays sports may actually move less than the recommendation says, because the parents drive to the hobby by car. Everyday exercise is left out when the child does not go to the hobby on foot or by bike, Honkonen says.
Honkonen hopes that children will find movement in other ways than through guided activities.
– I didn’t have any sports hobbies as a child, but we played outside summer and winter. Everyday exercise could be increased, for example, in an urban environment in this way.
Honkonen assures that the ministry will not remain idle, even though the elections are approaching.
Immobility has such a scary price tag.
– It will have a horrible effect on public health, Honkonen states.
“Business is over”
Sinuhe Wallinheimo (cook) highlights the electrification of society. It has reduced daily movement. Pasi Hakala / Studio Varjo
Wallinheimo raises a big question about the constantly developing trend for the worse.
– Can this younger generation of ours have a longer and longer working career in an increasingly hectic world?
According to the former goalie who won the Finnish ice hockey championship with Jypi, the root cause of the Move! study’s harsh numbers is clear.
– The business is over. There have been other competitors for free time, when in the past there were hippasleiks, church rats and the like.
According to Wallinheimo, today’s products and services are addictive and passivating.
– This problem affects the whole society. And not only young Finns. Decreased physical activity is a problem in all Western countries, the MP reminds.
Wallinheimo draws a line of convergence between the decrease in mobility and electrification.
– In Karrikos, the more electricity, the less movement. Everything that is made to make it easier for people to move is out of exercise. A good example of this is an electric scooter. It has replaced walking, Wallinheimo feels.
Expensive price tag
The weak physical condition of young people causes many problems in adulthood.
Wallinheimo watches with concern the growing number of people who have to take early retirement at a very young age.
– Of course, you can’t generalize, but the background is often that exercising has become less common during the teenage years. Movement helps a person cope. It has been studied that exercise has an effect on cognitive thinking ability. Exercise is a medicine for many things. It has been forgotten in this society.
The Move! study measures the physical performance of fifth and eighth graders. In Wallinheimo’s opinion, too many children have drifted into the wrong career long before the first study.
– Already in early childhood education one fifth of children are overweight. Quite a mistake has already been made in that so many people are overweight before school age.
Whose fault is it?
– This is a big question. As parents, are we making things too easy? Is it easier to leave the children to play on the computer and watch TV, or should they be taken outside to play sometimes? Wallinheimo asks.
Poor physical condition is not just an individual matter. In Wallinheimo’s opinion, the motivation for movement should be awakened in society as a whole.
– It has been calculated that immobility costs society 3–7 billion euros annually. Yes, I would use these figures to change the system, Wallinheimo states.