Generation Pep

MOVEMENT GETS YOUNG PEOPLE FIT FOR LIFE

Life habits form early. The earlier children begin exploring physical activity, the greater the likelihood that they will continue to enjoy exercise throughout their lives. Generation Pep has seen clearly that the pandemic has made it harder than usual for young people to get moving in their daily lives.

“Our bodies are designed to be in motion. But physical activity has become quite a challenge in today’s society.”

Carolina Klüft, operations manager at Generation Pep – why is it so important for children and young people to get moving?

It’s extremely important for us all, both children and adults. Our bodies are designed to be in motion. But physical activity has become quite a challenge in today’s society. Sitting still and sedentary activities have a negative impact on our health – both at an individual level and for society in general. Many who would not otherwise become sick now run a greater risk of developing illnesses, or at least feeling that life is becoming a bit more hard work. Physical activity, in contrast, reduces the risk of a number of illnesses. It also improves wellbeing.

The reason why we at Generation Pep focus on children and young people is of course because life habits form early. The earlier that children begin exploring and discovering different types of physical activity, the greater the likelihood that they will continue to enjoy exercise, be self-confident and dare to challenge their bodies throughout their lives.

Moreover, children have a right to good health under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is law in Sweden. Unfortunately, at the moment only some children are getting access to what they need. It is far from equal.

So what do you do – in concrete terms – to get children and young people moving about more?

Our primary mission is to change society at a structural level. We do not get involved in what political decisions should be made, but try to highlight the issue and its importance. There is a lot we can do to make it easier for children and young people and to create more equal health.

One thing we do is to work very widely to provide guidance and spread knowledge through preschools and schools. Digital tools are one way we do this.

We also work to influence decision-makers, so that they understand how important it is to prioritise physical activity. That’s why each year we create a Pep report that reports the current facts. We also have an annual convention – the Pep Forum – for participants from the public sector, non-profit organisations and businesses. Usually around a thousand people come along to attend talks, learn and be inspired.

But you also work directly with the young people?

Yes, in that we try to make it easier for them to make healthy choices and inspire them to engage in physical activity. It might involve building a Pep park – an activity area that is accessible to children and young people. Or holding a Pep day, which is an activity day when children and their families can try out different activities.

We also support schools and clubs in making healthy choices, such as changing the products on offer in the school cafeteria or from the kiosk at a

sports club. In addition to this we work in partnership with many others – such as the leisure library Fritidsbanken, which is a fantastic organisation that lends equipment for leisure activities to people free of charge at over a hundred locations around the country. We’re helping them become more visible and spread their message.

Have you noticed your work having an effect?

In the short term, unfortunately we can’t see any clear improvement in our surveys. But this is a long-term job. It’s unfortunate that we’ve also had a long period of pandemic, when many who were already sitting around a lot have moved even less.

But at the same time, it’s clear that the pandemic has meant that these issues have had if not a breakthrough, then at least more attention. Both decision-makers and ordinary people seem to have thought more about the importance of their life habits.

During the year the government appointed a committee to promote physical activity. That’s a positive thing, even if we have yet to see what comes of it. We’ve also got a government initiative looking at how the food industry could contribute to a development towards healthier diets.

Things are also happening at a local and municipal level. Various municipalities have joined in with our pilot project, Pep Kommun, where we work together to create good support materials to help the municipalities to work more effectively on children’s and young people’s health and exercise.

Are there any particular obstacles stopping children and young people from being able to move about more and feel better?

It’s clear that there are forces in society that are actually working against such development. Both norms and, for example, the range of unhealthy food on offer has changed a lot, and over a long period. We have seen a drastic reduction in movement in everyday life. I’m not talking now about fitness trends and the like, but rather about walking about and moving naturally in various ways. In the past, many children cycled to and from school. That has reduced by more than 50 percent in just 20 years.

The digital shift is, of course, a challenge. Today many find their adventures while sitting down for long periods. We really don’t want to grab the screens out of children’s hands, but we have to start talking about the downsides. That it has consequences for public health.

And, of course, socioeconomic factors also play a part. Not everyone has access to clubs, the need for physical activity is not being satisfied in school, unsafe environments mean people don’t go out and there can be cultural barriers that mean it is not that easy to be active.

There are also quite large differences between children and young people. The younger ones move about more. Then comes a breakpoint, towards the end of primary school or at secondary school, where there is an enormous drop.

I often meet young people who do not feel at home doing exercise or sport. The sports movement – which is nevertheless fantastic – is something that some can feel very excluded from.

We’ve just done a study into this in which a researcher at Karolinska Institutet interviewed teenagers. The aim was to understand what the young people see as obstacles to physical activity, but also what they see as the key. The final report is not ready yet, but we hope to get lots of answers that can help us find solutions and initiatives. Even if we try to create system change in society, where the responsibility lies with us adults, we have to listen to and understand our target group: our children and young people.

“Many who were already sitting around a lot have moved even less during the pandemic.”

Can you tell us a bit about ‘Project Assist’, your leadership initiative within basketball?

Waiting lists for basketball clubs are growing throughout the whole of Sweden. Along with the Swedish

“Along with the Swedish Basketball Federation we’re going to train 500 new leaders aged from 15 to 25.”

Basketball Federation we are going to train 500 new leaders aged from 15 to 25. The idea for our part is that these young people will help the clubs take on more children, but also that their training will have a longer-term effect. Whether or not they stay within basketball, we hope that they will continue to use their sporting and leadership skills in a way that spreads out like rings on water.

What does the support from the Erling-Persson Foundation mean to Generation Pep?

Generation Pep has had support from the ErlingPersson Foundation as a founding partner since it started in 2016. The Foundation’s involvement and

support has been incredibly important. Having sound and stable financing means we don’t need to spend valuable time hunting for members or fundraising. Instead we can put all our efforts into creating system change.

Some of the funding will go directly to ‘Project Assist’, i.e. the basketball project I was just telling you about. That’s particularly exciting because basketball is the most gender-equal sport in Sweden. Basketball can be found everywhere, and many children and young people see it as more of a lifestyle than just a sport in which they play matches and chase points. It’s going to be incredibly exciting to follow this project and see what long-term effects it has.

How do you yourself view the future?

Personally I’m dreaming big – I see physical activity being an entirely natural part of our society, with lowered thresholds enabling everyone to get moving whatever their situation. Where you were born, your parents’ level of education, any disabilities or budget constraints would be irrelevant – all children and young people would feel a sense of community and enjoy movement, both in preschool and school and in their leisure time. I’d like a society that prepares us well to cope with life’s challenges.

I may have been an elite athlete myself, but this is nothing to do with creating the conditions for new sports stars. Those who want to become sports stars

are welcome to do so, but this is about providing a firm foundation so that people have the energy to deal with the ups and downs of life, can go to work and handle conflict or stress and anything else that crops up.

Quite simply, a future in which Generation Pep won’t be needed. Then we can wind up our activities.

“We really don’t want to grab the screens out of children’s hands, but we have to start talking about the downsides.”

2 in 10

The number of children and young people who achieve the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day.

30%

The 2021 Pep report states that 30% of children and young people say their screen time increased during the pandemic.

>50%

Just over half of the children and young people surveyed want to have more sports teaching in school than they get at present.

ABOUT THE PROJECT Recipient: Generation Pep – a non-profit organisation working to engage the whole of society in children’s and young people’s health. The aim is to create the change needed to give everyone the opportunity and the will to live active and healthy lives.

Title: ‘A healthy start in life’ including the sub-project ‘Project Assist’ in partnership with the Swedish Basketball Federation.

Funding: The Erling-Persson Foundation is supporting the project with SEK 2.5 million over one year.

The pandemic has prevented many people from moving about as much. Pupils at the Alhanko Academy of Ballet.