The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a systems-based framework in which health-related physical fitness in children and adolescents can be understood as both an outcome of, and contributor to, multisectoral development processes. This opinion piece outlines the theoretical links between selected SDGs and youth fitness and explores whether stronger national SDG performance was associated with better youth fitness outcomes during the COVID-19 period.
This opinion piece positions youth health‑related physical fitness within the SDG systems framework, arguing that it functions as both a policy‑sensitive outcome and a near‑term determinant of population well‑being. Ecological analyses revealed positive associations between several fitness components and SDGs 3, 5, 9, 11, and 16 (and inverse associations with SDG 13), supporting calls to embed fitness‑focused, gender‑inclusive, and climate‑aligned physical activity targets within national SDG implementation and health surveillance systems.
Researchers
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Mark S. Tremblay
Senior Scientist, CHEO Research Institute
