We have data that warns that children's health is no longer an individual problem, but a serious social alarm.
We are reporting a statement issued by the "Sport Performance Center".
"For the first time, we have systematically collected and measurable data from the field. More than 1.200 children from the territory of the Municipality of Bar were tested, as well as over 500 young athletes at the "Sports Performance Center", through detailed assessments of functional status, motor abilities and load levels."
The numbers before us are not an impression, an exaggeration, or a subjective assessment. They represent clear and measurable facts. And those facts are alarming...
Namely, 46 percent of the children tested show imbalances in basic motor skills. This means that almost every other child does not have adequately developed the fundamental functional capacities that are the basis of healthy growth and development. On the other hand, 37 percent of the athletes tested at the "Sports Performance Center" show early signs of overtraining and an increased risk of injuries, while as many as 75 percent of them have already had one or more serious injuries.
We are between two equally dangerous extremes.
On the one hand, there are children who do not exercise enough, spend hours in front of screens, adopt bad lifestyle habits, and do not have a developed foundation for healthy physical development.
On the other hand, children who train too much, without adequate recovery, are under constant pressure to perform - physically exhausted and functionally overloaded. Both extremes lead to the same outcome: impaired health and long-term consequences.
The data from the "Sports Performance Center" is no longer just a warning - it indicates a serious systemic problem in the way we work with children in sports.
We are increasingly seeing young athletes with chronic fatigue, recurring injuries and insufficiently planned recovery. The body sends clear signals that the limit has been crossed, but these signals are too often ignored. Of particular concern is the fact that all this happens when working with children and young people - organisms that are still in the phase of intensive growth and development. Instead of an individual approach based on modern scientific knowledge, we are witnessing the application of template programs and outdated work methods.
Children of different biological ages train according to the same model. Training does not adapt to the child - the child adapts to training. And that is the fastest path to injuries and permanent consequences.
The greatest progress does not come from more hours of training or from maximum load. Progress comes from balance. Recovery is not a break - recovery is a phase in which the body rebuilds, strengthens, adapts and progresses. Training that ignores fatigue and the need for regeneration ceases to be a means of development and becomes a cause of damage.
Additional pressure often comes from the family. In their desire to provide their children with a more secure future or sporting success, parents often unconsciously push them beyond their limits. Short-term results become more important than long-term health. And the price of such an approach may not come immediately - but it will inevitably come.
This is no longer just a sports issue. This is a public health issue and the responsibility of the entire system. If we ignore these alarming indicators today, tomorrow we will have a generation of young people with chronic pain, permanent injuries, poor functional patterns and reduced life potential. Inactivity undermines development, overtraining damages the body, and ignorance and insufficient education leave long-term consequences that will be felt by the entire society.
Therefore, prevention, education and systematic monitoring must become the standard, not the exception. Honest cooperation between parents, coaches, schools and state institutions is needed. Clear work criteria, continuous professional development and mandatory monitoring of children's growth, development and workload are necessary. Children are not just athletes or students. They are the future of this country.
The data we have today is not there to cause fear - it is there to trigger change. Alarm does not mean panic. Alarm means awakening.
If we react in time, we can build a system that will enable children to have a long, healthy and successful development in and out of sports. If we do not react, the consequences will not be visible immediately, but they will be permanent. This is the moment for institutions to take responsibility and set clear standards for working with children. Every delay means another injury, another missed potential. Our children do not have time to wait.
"If we ignore these indicators, tomorrow many of today's young people will grow up with chronic health problems, which will make them long-term dependent on the public healthcare system and further burden the state healthcare budget," the statement said.
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