CHENNAI: Sportz Village’s 13th Annual Health Survey (AHS) has revealed alarming gaps in the fitness and well-being of school-going children across India. Conducted annually since 2010, the survey aims to analyse and evaluate children's health and fitness levels in schools in the country.

The 13th edition of the survey, powered by EduSports, assessed 1,16,650 children aged 7 to 17 years across 85 locations, highlighting the urgent need for structured physical education programs in schools.

The east region has emerged with the second-best performance showcasing an overall fitness in a total of 56.40% of children, showing notable strengths in upper body strength (54%), lower body strength (46%), and flexibility (77%).

The survey highlights that a higher percentage of children from the north region have shown extremely poor performance, recording the lowest percentages in three out of seven fitness parameters. The region performed the weakest in lower body strength (35%), abdominal strength (81%), and anaerobic capacity (58%), underscoring significant areas for improvement in these key fitness indicators.

The performance of children from the south region has been a mixed bag. A higher percentage of children have performed well in the parameters of BMI (60.12%), aerobic capacity (31%), anaerobic capacity (62%), and abdominal strength (87%), while showing areas of improvement in upper body strength and flexibility.

It is noted that the west region has performed the best when compared to all other regions with a higher percentage of children performing exceptionally well in the parameters of upper body strength (58%) lower body strength (60%), anaerobic capacity (81%), abdominal strength (93%), aerobic capacity (52%) and flexibility (81%).

The survey also highlights the positive correlation between the frequency of PE classes and overall fitness levels.

Saumil Majmudar, Co-Founder, CEO & Managing Director, Sportz Village, emphasised the importance of balancing academics and sports, stating: “Children naturally love to play, yet sports often take a backseat to academics. The 13th AHS findings highlight the urgent need to strike a balance between the two.”