Active Healthy Kids Denmark: A National Status Report on Children’s and Adolescents’ Physical Activity

More than half of Danish children and young people do not meet the recommendation of at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day. This is one of the key findings of the new report Active Healthy Kids Denmark 2026, which compiles existing knowledge on children’s and adolescents’ physical activity and the environments that shape opportunities for movement in everyday life. The report also highlights disparities between different groups of children and adolescents and identifies areas where knowledge is still lacking.

“The most important finding is that activity levels remain low. More than half of Danish children and adolescents do not meet the physical activity recommendations, even though Denmark provides relatively favorable conditions for movement and active living. At the same time, we see considerable differences between different groups of children and young people,” says Mette Toftager, lead of Active Healthy Kids Denmark and Associate Professor at the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics.

Ten indicators provide an overall picture

Active Healthy Kids Denmark is a national research and practice network that brings together representatives from research, analysis, and educational institutions, as well as national sports organizations with expertise in children’s and adolescents’ physical activity.

The report is the fourth Danish report since 2017 and brings together existing knowledge on how physically active children and adolescents are. It examines overall physical activity levels, organized sport participation, active transportation, and active play, as well as the influence of family, peers, schools, communities, and policy environments. The report also analyses changes over time and differences between groups of children and adolescents.

In total, ten indicators are assessed using criteria developed by the international network Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance. The assessments are based primarily on large-scale national surveys conducted on a regular basis and on the proportion of children, adolescents, parents, schools and municipalities meeting the established benchmarks. For some indicators, expert assessments from the network are also included. Each indicator receives a grade ranging from A+ to F.

More than half do not meet the recommendation

Since the first Danish report was published in 2017, overall physical activity levels have remained low. In 2026, a little over 40 percent of children and adolescents meet the recommendation of at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day, corresponding to a grade of C-. In the 2022 report, the grade was D+, corresponding to 34-39 percent.

Although the grade has improved, Mette Toftager emphasizes that most children and adolescents still do not reach the recommended level.

“We see a modest improvement, but the proportion remains low. It is still less than half of children and adolescents who meet the physical activity recommendation,” she says.

The report also assesses sedentary behavior based on recreational screen time. Denmark receives a grade of F because fewer than 20 percent of children and adolescents limit recreational screen use to a maximum of two hours per day. The two-hour threshold follows the criteria established by the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance.

However, screen time and physical activity are not opposites. A child may be physically active while also spending considerable time in front of a screen, and the report does not examine the interaction between the two. In addition, data on screen time among the youngest children remain limited.

Large differences between groups of children and adolescents

A stronger focus in this year’s report is the differences between groups of children and adolescents. Boys are generally more physically active than girls, activity levels decline with age, and the report points to social inequalities across several of the areas examined.

For the first time, the report also includes a separate assessment of children and adolescents living with chronic illness or disability. Available evidence suggests that this group is generally less physically active and participates less often in organized sport, active transportation and other movement-related communities than children and adolescents overall.

However, the evidence base for this group is more limited than for the general population, and the category covers a broad and diverse range of conditions and circumstances. The findings should therefore be interpreted with caution.

Based on these findings, Active Healthy Kids Denmark recommends a strengthened focus on environments and opportunities that enable more children to participate. One example of a barrier may be a child with autism who experiences the noise levels and unpredictability of organized leisure-time sport as overwhelming and therefore opts out of participation.

One potential solution is to expand programs in which recreational teachers help children and adolescents engage in sport and recreational communities and support them in overcoming barriers to participation.

Six recommendations for increasing physical activity

Based on the available knowledge, Active Healthy Kids Denmark highlights six recommendations:

• Prioritize daily physical activity for all children and adolescents.
• Strengthen movement and active communities in schools..
• Increase focus on children’s and adolescents’ physical fitness.
• Promote active play and reduce recreational screen time.
• Support diverse forms of organized leisure activities.
• Create more inclusive and activity-promoting physical environments for all children.

The network also highlights the need for a more coordinated national monitoring system for children’s and adolescents’ physical activity. While Denmark has several large-scale studies in this area, knowledge remains limited regarding participation in leisure-time communities, children and adolescents with chronic illness or disability, and how local initiatives support the least active children and adolescents.

“We hope the report can provide municipalities, schools, sports associations, and others working with children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being with a shared foundation for dialogue and prioritization. The goal is to strengthen collaboration across sectors so that more children and adolescents can experience physical activity as a natural part of everyday life,” says Mette Toftager.

Conference at SDU brings together research and practice

On 16 November, Active Healthy Kids Denmark will bring together researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders for the conference Active Healthy Kids Denmark 2026: Knowledge, Challenges and Collective Action at the University of Southern Denmark.

The conference will present the latest knowledge and evidence on physical activity among Danish children and adolescents alongside examples of how municipalities, schools, and sports associations are working to create environments that support active lifestyles. Participants will also have the opportunity to exchange experiences on how knowledge can be translated into action.

The Danish report forms part of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance, which includes 67 participating countries. An international comparison will be published in December, showing how Denmark performs relative to the other participating countries.