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Brandenburg Report: One in Three School Leavers Overweight as Youth Activity Falls

Health officials urge stronger school-based prevention after the 2025 review flagged rising mental strain alongside data gaps.

Overview

  • The 2025 state children-and-youth health report finds about 30% of 2023 school leavers were overweight, up from roughly 10% at school entry.
  • Only 43% of adolescents reported doing regular extracurricular sport at school-leaving exams, with just one in six 11- to 15-year-olds meeting WHO activity guidelines.
  • Hospital admissions for mental or behavioral disorders reached 8.1% of pediatric inpatients in 2023, an increase of 1.6 percentage points since 2013.
  • Screen time frequently exceeded age-based recommendations, with especially high use among children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds or with migrant parents.
  • Health Minister Britta Müller advocates a health-promotion subject and more movement spaces, while the state health office develops a prevention map; the report excludes post-2023 trends such as effects of 2024 cannabis legalization.