Physical fitness of children and adolescents in Germany in 2023–2024 Current age- and sex-specific profiles from a nationwide cross-sectional study MoMo 2.0 Study

This study aimed to provide a nationally representative description of physical fitness across age groups and by sex among children and adolescents in Germany following the COVID-19 pandemic. The MoMo 2.0 study included 3,973 participants aged 4–17 years recruited using a two-stage random sampling procedure. Assessments were conducted between September 2023 and December 2024 using a standardised motor performance test profile. Weighted means and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using complex-samples analyses accounting for municipality-level clustering. In cross-sectional comparisons across age groups, older children and adolescents generally demonstrated higher strength and absolute cycle ergometry performance and fewer static balance errors than younger participants. Sex differences favouring boys were most pronounced in strength and cycle ergometry performance in adolescence, whereas girls in all age groups performed better in balancing backwards and the stand-and-reach test. Flexibility showed contrasting age-group patterns in boys and girls. These findings were contextualised through comparisons with three earlier MoMo waves. Compared with weighted data of the 2003–2006 baseline, mean physical working capacity at a heart rate of 170 beats/min (PWC170) values were approximately 11.2% lower in boys and 9.1% lower in girls, while standing long jump performance was 7.9% and 3.2% lower, respectively. Other motor performance tests showed heterogeneous historical differences. These findings provide a post-pandemic population reference for physical fitness among children and adolescents in Germany. Differences across age groups, sexes, and motor performance domains highlight the importance of differentiated population fitness monitoring. Keywords: physical fitness; motor performance; children; adolescents; population monitoring