新聞正文
The Sasakawa Sports Foundation (Minato-ku, Tokyo, Chairman: Kazutoshi Watanabe, hereinafter SSF), which promotes "Sports for All," conducted the "Survey on Children's Physical Activity and Play in the Era of Climate Change" (Survey Period: September 2025 - February 2026) in collaboration with Associate Professor Tetsuhiko Kidokoro of the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, Nippon Sport Science University.Children's lack of physical activity is a social issue related to the healthy growth of mind and body. In recent years, with continuous extreme heat, attention has also been focused on the effects of temperature and climate, particularly heat countermeasures. However, no nationwide survey has been conducted on the impact of seasons on children's physical activity.This survey was conducted three times in September 2025, November 2025, and February 2026. Using longitudinal data from 2,605 elementary school students nationwide, whose guardians responded to all surveys, the impact of seasons on physical activity was analyzed. Children who did not meet the physical activity amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) (60 minutes per day) (hereinafter, physical activity guidelines) accounted for 70-80% at all survey points, revealing chronic physical inactivity regardless of the season.Official WebsiteKey Survey Findings● 72-80% of children did not meet the physical activity guidelines at all survey points; no seasonal impact on achievement rates was observed.● Approximately 60% of children never met the physical activity guidelines throughout the three surveys.● The top reasons for inactivity among those who did not meet the guidelines were "no particular reason," "have other things I want to do," and "lack of time."● The biggest reason for inactivity among those who did not meet the guidelines during summer (September survey) was "heat."Comment from Associate Professor Tetsuhiko Kidokoro (Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, Nippon Sport Science University)Many children are chronically inactiveThis study aimed to clarify the seasonal variation in children's physical activity by surveying guardians of elementary school students nationwide at three points in time. The results showed that 72-80% of children at each point did not achieve the recommended amount of physical activity (60 minutes of physical activity per day), and about 60% did not achieve it even once across the three surveys. No significant seasonal variation in physical activity levels was confirmed, and levels remained low throughout the year, indicating that many children are chronically inactive regardless of the season.Perspectives needed to promote children's physical activityIn the summer, "heat" was cited as the main reason for inactivity, indicating the importance of responding to climate change (especially high temperature and humidity environments in summer). It is thought that a more fundamental and comprehensive approach is needed, looking at children's entire lives and their surrounding environment, rather than relying solely on seasonal symptomatic measures.[Details of Main Survey Results]1. Transition of Physical Activity Guideline Achievement Status by Seasonal ChangeThe achievement status of physical activity guidelines at each survey point is shown by gender. For boys, there was no significant change in the achievement rate at each survey point, remaining between 27.7% and 28.4%. For girls, the achievement rate was highest at 26.8% in the first survey (September) conducted in summer, and lowest at 20.0% in the third survey (February) conducted in winter. At all survey points, 70-80% of both boys and girls did not meet the physical activity guidelines, suggesting that physical inactivity is likely to be normalized regardless of the season.Figure 1. Physical Activity Guideline Achievement Status at Each Survey Point (by Gender)* "Achievement" of physical activity guidelines was defined as responding "5 days" to "7 days" to the question, "How many days in the past 7 days did you engage in at least a total of 60 minutes of physical activity per day?
" The achievement rate was calculated.2. Grouping of Physical Activity Guideline Achievement Status by Seasonal ChangeRespondents were grouped according to changes in their achievement status at each survey point. Those who achieved the physical activity guidelines in all three surveys were defined as the "All Achievers Group," those who did not achieve them in all three surveys were defined as the "Never Achievers Group," and those who achieved them in one or two of the three surveys were defined as the "Seasonal Variation Group." While the "All Achievers Group" accounted for less than 10% of both boys (6.6%) and girls (4.9%), the "Never Achievers Group" accounted for 59.4% of boys and 62.6% of girls, meaning approximately 60% of both genders never met the physical activity guidelines. The "Seasonal Variation Group," whose achievement status changed with the seasons, accounted for 33.9% of boys and 32.6% of girls, with no gender difference observed in the proportion of achievement groups due to seasonal changes.Figure 2. Proportion of Physical Activity Guideline Achievement Status Groups by Seasonal Change (by Gender)Source: Created from the Sasakawa Sports Foundation's "Report on the Survey of Children's and Youth's Sports Life" (2001-2025)3. Reasons for Inactivity Among Those Not Meeting Physical Activity GuidelinesThe reasons for inactivity among those not meeting the physical activity guidelines are shown by gender. Respondents were asked to select multiple reasons from 10 options. In the first survey conducted in summer (September), approximately 30% of both boys and girls cited "because it's hot" as the most common reason. Although "because it's cold" was a top reason for girls in winter (February), reasons other than seasonal changes (e.g., "because it's hot," "because it's cold") such as "no particular reason," "have other things I want to do," and "lack of time" showed high proportions for both genders across the three surveys.Figure 3. Reasons for Inactivity (Never Achievers - Boys: Multiple Responses)Figure 4. Reasons for Inactivity (Never Achievers - Girls: Multiple Responses)[Survey Overview: Children's Physical Activity and Play in the Era of Climate Change]Survey Target: Guardians of elementary school students (grades 1-6) nationwideSurvey Method: Internet SurveyRespondents: 2,605 individuals who responded to the follow-up surveys (November 2025 and February 2026) after initially responding to the first survey (September 2025), participating in all three surveys.Research Team:Lead Researcher: Tetsuhiko Kidokoro, Associate Professor, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, Nippon Sport Science UniversityResearch Collaborator: Natsuko Imai, Researcher, Department of Policy Science, National Center for Child Health and DevelopmentSurvey Staff: Takahiro Suzuki, Senior Policy Officer, Sasakawa Sports Foundation Yosuke Mizuno, Senior Policy Officer, Sasakawa Sports FoundationOfficial WebsiteSasakawa Sports Foundation "Actionable Sports Think Tank"The Sasakawa Sports Foundation is a think tank specializing in sports that promotes "Sports for All." It solves social issues through sports by formulating proposals for national and local government sports policies, conducting research and surveys on sports promotion, collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data, and engaging in joint practical research with local governments.Chairman: Kazutoshi WatanabeLocation: 3F, The Nippon Foundation Bldg., 1-2-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052Established: March 1991Objective: Promotion of "Sports for All"Activities:- Research and surveys for the promotion of lifelong sports- Collaborative projects with lifelong sports promotion organizations- Public relations activities for the promotion of lifelong sportsURL: https://www.ssf.or.jp/