A day without academic classes but filled with sport and exercise is awaiting primary and secondary students in Greece on September 26.
According to the Ministry of Education every school has to organize sporting events—either on their premises or in selected external venues as part of the 12th National School Sports Day. Participation is mandatory for all students on this day that has been dedicated to the promotion of Physical Education (PE) as well as healthier eating habits. The slogan for the day is “I move, I act, I create”.
Greece remains among the countries with the highest rates of childhood obesity and overweight in Europe, according to the latest WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) results (2022–2024). Among children aged 7–9, the prevalence of overweight (including obesity) was around 37%, while the prevalence of obesity alone reached 18%, placing Greece alongside Cyprus, Italy, and Malta at the top of the European scale. Encouragingly, the data also show a statistically significant decline in overweight prevalence among Greek girls compared to the previous survey round (2018–2020), suggesting that some progress has been made.
