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1. Main trends in the health conditions of young people

2. Main concepts

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Main trends in the health conditions of young people

Health of children and young people

In Germany, the health of children and young people and the health care available to them can be rated good to very good. These were the findings from parent surveys and studies of children and young people carried out by the Robert Koch Institute (Robert-Koch-Institut) as part of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (Kinder- und Jugendgesundheitssurvey, KiGGS). The chances of enjoying a life free from disease and health problems are also spread unequally. In particular, children from socially disadvantaged families are exposed to higher health risks. These can be caused by family lifestyle and living conditions. For example, children and young people from disadvantaged families are affected more than average by traffic accidents, various diseases, being overweight and psychological disorders.
Representative studies also show that there are significant problems in Germany as a result of people being overweight and inactive on the one hand, and suffering from eating disorders and malnutrition on the other, as well as a lack of exercise. This increases the risk that young people in particular will also suffer from health problems.

Latest health surveys and studies

 

Statistics from the Federal Statistics Office

The Federal Statistics Office (Statistisches Bundesamt) regularly collects health data in Germany. The following surveys are of interest with respect to children and young people: Accidents among children and young people (Unfälle bei Kindern und Jugendlichen). In the period between 2010 and 2025, there was a decline in the number of deaths caused by injury among children and young people.

However, accident-related injuries are one of the biggest health hazards for children and young people in Germany and the most frequent cause of death for children from the age of one. In its statistics on causes of death, the Federal Statistics Office shows that over 60% of fatal accidents involving children occur in the home or during leisure time. Around 35% occur in road traffic and less than 5% in places such as child day-care facilities, schools, or they are unknown.

German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (Kinder- und Jugendgesundheitssurvey, KiGGS)

 

 

 

Child and Youth Reports

According to Section 84 of Book VIII of the Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch, SGB VIII), the federal government is obliged to submit a Child and Youth Report to the German parliament (Bundestag) and Federal Council (Bundesrat) in each parliamentary term and to make a statement on this report. An independent commission of experts is appointed to draft these reports.

The 15th Child and Youth Report (Kinder- und Jugendbericht, KJB) from 2017, entitled “Between freedom, family, all-day school and virtual worlds – Personality development and education for young people” (Zwischen Freiräumen, Familie, Ganztagsschule und virtuellen Welten – Persönlichkeitsentwicklung und Bildungsanspruch im Jugendalter), provides a picture of the realities and lives of adolescents and young adults. It examines the circumstances under which young people are growing up, how they are influenced by digitalisation, demographic development and globalisation, and analyses the issues typically faced by this target group. It also covers the issue of young people’s health.

The 16th Child and Youth Report from 2020 focuses on "Supporting democracy education for children and young people" (Förderung demokratischer Bildung im Kindes- und Jugendalter). 

An excursus in the 16th Child and Youth Report discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for young people. The report analyses not only the challenges but also the learning opportunities for political education that arise from the pandemic. The report's commission of experts believes the epidemiological crisis presents numerous opportunities to discuss COVID-related problems and challenges, to gear political education programmes towards these issues and to make systematic use of related educational opportunities.

 

School studies

 

 

Analysis of child and youth medical care

 

Nutrition Reports

For the past 50 years, the German Nutrition Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung e. V., DGE) has published a Nutrition Report every four years on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (Bundesministerium für Landwirtschaft, Ernährug und Heimat, BMLEH), providing important information for nutrition and health policy-making. Summaries of the nutrition reports are available. 

 

On behalf of the BMLEH, the opinion research institute forsa asked around 1,000 German citizens aged 14 and above about their eating and shopping habits in telephone interviews. The findings were published in the BMLEH Nutrition Report (BMLEH-Ernährungsbericht 2025). T

Children and Youth Sports Report

In October 2020, the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation (Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung) published the Fourth Children and Youth Sport Report (Vierter Kinder- und Jugendsportbericht, which has presented the current situation in children's and youth sport and recommended action plans for politics, associations, clubs and schools since 2003. The report examines such topics as changes in children's and youth sports, and physical activity and sport for children up to the age of twelve. The Fourth Children and Youth Sport Report focuses on performance, health and society. It addresses current issues such as the positive impact of sport on children with chronic diseases, or the concept of physical literacy to promote physical exercise among children, a holistic approach which embraces participation, motor skills, as well as motivation and self-efficacy.

Drug affinity study

Once a year, the Federal Institute of Public Health (Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit, BIÖG) carries out a 'drug affinity study' on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (Bundesgesundheitsministerium). 

Evaluation of the National Action Plan IN FORM

 

Other representative studies

The Federal Institute of Public Health (Das Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit, BIÖG) has carried out regular representative surveys on the subjects of school, health, vaccinations and hygiene, health equity and alcohol, tobacco and drug consumption since the 1970s. It has also prepared prevention-relevant databases on sex education a nd AIDS.

Main concepts

Youth health promotion initiatives

The findings of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (Kinder- und Jugendgesundheitssurvey, KiGGS) and the Study Series "Health in Germany" (Robert-Koch-Institute, RKI) are a starting point for the initiatives of the Federal Ministry of Health (Bundesgesundheitsministerium) which aim to promote children's and adolescents' health and improve medical care. For example, they are an important basis on which statutory regulations for the paediatric check-up programme (Act to strengthen health promotion and prevention (Präventionsgesetz)) are redrafted.

Medical and health science research carried out by the federal government also focuses on promoting and preserving health and improving medical care. A special funding priority of the Federal Ministry of Health also targets projects designed to further improve health care and the health of children and adolescents. There are other specific funding priorities, such as initiatives to improve addiction prevention.

In the priority area "Promoting children’s health”, the Federal Ministry of Health is currently funding projects that address the following issues:

• Improving the care of children and young people with mental illnesses
• Improving the protection of children in medicine, and
• Preventing overweight and obesity in children

As part of the federal government's Youth Strategy (Jugendstrategie), activities are being carried out in the area of “health”. One of these measures is a dialogue with experts about strengthening prevention and health promotion among adolescents. This dialogue is conducted by the Federal Ministry of Health (Bundesministerium für Gesundheit) and the Federal Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs, Education and Research, Food and Agriculture and for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Bundesministerien für Arbeit und Soziales, für Bildung und Forschung, für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft sowie für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend). The exchange allows stakeholders from science, industry and politics to collaborate across all age groups, target groups and subjects to jointly promote young people’s health. One important milestone in these networking activities is the “Guide to a common understanding of health promotion and prevention among children and adolescents in Germany" (Wegeweiser zum gemeinsamen Verständnis von Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention bei Kindern und Jugendlichen in Deutschland), which was jointly adopted by the participating organisations and representatives of the participating bodies. The guide defines the key considerations and tasks of the experts in the context of the process.

Active child protection and reliable networks

In its role as guardian, the state must ensure that parents assume their responsibility for the health and well-being of their children. The federal states (Bundesländer) and local authorities are primarily responsible for ensuring the welfare and protection of children. In the fight against child neglect and abuse, key instruments are the outreach activities of child and youth services and the public health service and systematic support of families in difficult circumstances.

The Child and Youth Services Act (Kinder- und Jugendhilfegesetz) (Book VIII of the Social Code) sets out the protection mandate, in particular, of the youth welfare office and local authorities if a child’s welfare is endangered. To enforce the right to a sound upbringing and parental responsibility, youth services are expected, in particular, to

• support young people in their personal and social development and help prevent or eliminate disadvantages,
• provide advice and assistance to parents and other persons having parental powers,
• protect children and young persons from harm to their welfare,
• help maintain or create positive living conditions and a favourable environment for young people and their families.

The Federal Child Protection Act (Bundeskinderschutzgesetz, BKiSchG) regulates preventive and active child protection in Germany. At its core is the Act on Cooperation and Information in Child Protection (Gesetz zur Kooperation und Information im Kinderschutz, KKG). In this context, it is paramount that the activities of child and youth services are coordinated with the health services and programmes to secure basic material needs.

The federal states (Länder) and local authorities decide how they approach parents to give them information and advice on local support services. This could be done by the health services or youth welfare services, for example. 

The child protection guidelines (Kinderschutzleitlinie) published in 2019 by the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften e.V., AWMF) are the first evidence-based guidelines of this kind to be developed jointly by relevant professional bodies and organisations.

Health targets

For over 20 years, 120 German health care organisations have participated in a cooperation network tasked with developing the national health target process (nationaler Gesundheitszieleprozess). Its members include policymakers at federal, state and community level, self-governing organisations, industry associations, patient and self-help organisations and scientific institutions.

The stated aims are:

• to improve children and young people’s life skills
• to reduce stress/negative influences on children, young people and families
• to promote physical activity among children and young people
• to reduce malnutrition and promote healthy eating in families
• to optimise health-promoting conditions and structures in childcare facilities, schools, families/environment

Recommended measures:

• Raise awareness among child and youth services stakeholders with the aim of establishing health promotion as a professional standard in child and youth services
• Ban food advertisements targeted at children and product placement around children's television programmes
• Include life skills in the interdisciplinary training of care workers and teachers and develop these on an ongoing basis to keep up with developments and quality standards
• Childcare facilities will implement measures to promote workplace health
• Childcare facilities will offer children at least two free meals a day
• Encourage children and young people’s natural enjoyment of physical exercise as part of physical education
• Include practical and theoretical education on nutrition in existing school subjects
• Remove drink vending machines and replace with drinking water dispensers
• Develop setting- and subject-specific quality assurance tools

Equity in health

The call for health equity – especially for socially disadvantaged children and adolescents – is an important subject that features heavily in discussions on health policy in Germany. Studies show that social status influences chances of growing up healthily: the lower the social status, the higher the risk of poorer health. In Germany, opportunities for growing up healthily are unequally distributed, as also shown by the Robert Koch Institute (Robert Koch-Institut, RKI) in the KiGGS Wave 2 study (KiGGS). Although most children and adolescents grow up healthily, 15 to 20 percent have significantly poorer health. They often live under difficult social circumstances, are more exposed to risk factors and have fewer coping mechanisms.

Socially determined inequalities in health are present in all European countries. This is why the Federal Institute of Public Health (Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit, BIÖG) is collaborating with national and international partners in two projects (Equity in Health and Health Inequalities), each of which aims to promote measures and strategies to reduce health inequalities, share expertise and identify and disseminate examples of good practice. The German Collaborative Network for Equity in Health (Kooperationsverbund Gesundheitliche Chancengleichheit) has 75 member organisations.

After the German Act to strengthen health promotion and prevention (Präventionsgesetz) came into force in 2015, the Collaborative Network set up health equity coordination centres (Koordinierungsstellen Gesundheitliche Chancengleichheit) on a federal level across the country. Their task is to stimulate dialogue and collaboration between stakeholders on a federal, state and municipal level, identify and disseminate good practice projects and thus promote quality development. They support and advise local authorities as part of the partner process “Health for all”.

Drawing on experience from good practice projects, the Collaborative Network has compiled general recommendations for action and implementation strategies to improve the health of children and young people in difficult social situations, but also for special life phases and periods of transition. The good practice criteria devised by the Collaborative Network’s task force can be used as a quality guideline to align services to the needs of target groups. The recommendations for action are implemented in the context of the local partner process "Health for all" (Gesundheit für alle).

Participation

In the mid-2000s, certain criteria and processes were introduced to develop and safeguard the quality of health promotion activities. This came in response to calls from the field and financial backers to be able to better identify and promote effective concepts. The German Collaborative Network for Equity in Health (Kooperationsverbund Gesundheitliche Chancengleichheit) lists participation as one of its good practices. The Collaborative Network’s website presents good practice projects that encourage children and young people to participate in health promotion activities.

Children and young people in the COVID-19 pandemic

Apart from the health risks associated with COVID-19, young people were also affected on multiple levels by the political measures and consequences of the pandemic both socially and individually. Contact restrictions had not only impacted their social life experiences, the pandemic has also had psychological and physical consequences. Studies show that disadvantaged children were especially hard hit by the burdens of the pandemic.

In its studies JuCo (Experiences and Perspectives of Young People During the COVID-19 Pandemic) and KiCo (Experiences and Perspectives of Parents and Their Children During Lockdown), the research network "Childhood – Youth – Family in the COVID-19 Crisis" (Kindheit – Jugend – Familie in der Corona-Zeit) has made it clear that the COVID-19 crisis has had a significant impact on young people and their families. Among other things, children and young people were affected by lack of exercise, isolation and fears about the future.

Physical exercise and diet 

 

Mental health

With regard to the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people, the COPSY study conducted by the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (COPSY-Studie des Universitätsklinikums Hamburg-Eppendorf, UKE, 2025) showed that 

Violence

The 2024 Police Crime Statistics (Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik (PKS) 2024) show that violence against children has increased. 

An increase in the distribution, purchase, possession and production of images of sexual abuse, or child pornography, has also been observed. Violence in the digital space is also increasing among young people. A study by the health insurance fund Techniker Krankenkasse (2022) clearly shows that the shift to online teaching in schools and pandemic-related contact restrictions have increased rates of cyberbullying.

Research on the lives of young people during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

JuCo and KiCo: surveys of young people and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic

The research network Childhood – Youth – Family During COVID-19 (Kindheit – Jugend – Familie in der Corona-Zeit) carried out the JuCo study on young people’s experiences and perspectives during COVID-19 and the KiCo study on the experiences and perspectives of parents and their children under the lockdown restrictions. The network is a collaboration between the University of Hildesheim’s Department of Social and Organisational Education (Institut für Sozialpädagogik und Erwachsenenbildung an der Stiftung Universität Hildesheim) and the University of Frankfurt’s Institute of Social Pedagogy and Adult Education (Institut für Sozialpädagogik und Erwachsenenbildung an der Universität Frankfurt) together with the University of Bielefeld.

Shell youth study 2024

 

Youth study 2025 by the TUI foundation (TUI Stiftung)

The TUI foundation has been conducting the "Young Europe" study since 2017. It aims to shed light on the lifeworld, identity and political attitudes of young people in Europe.

 

DJI survey "Growing up in Germany: Everyday Worlds” (Aufwachsen in Deutschland: Alltagswelten – AID:A)

With its survey "Growing Up in Germany: Everyday Worlds", the German Youth Institute (Deutsches Jugendinstitut, DJI) provides comprehensive information about the living situations and experiences of children, adolescents, young adults and their parents during and after the pandemic. Conducted throughout the country, these representative interviews offer insights into changes in lifestyles and living situations and focus on the different dimensions of the well-being of young people and their families in different everyday contexts.

Link to the findings and analyses of DJI research

Measures for children and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic

Due to the lockdown restrictions and the effect the COVID-19 crisis has had on young people, the federal government has adopted a raft of measures. These include:

• Financial support for families, such as compensation under the Infection Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz), threefold increase in the number of paid days off to care for sick children, a special child bonus and easier access to child supplement.
• Increase in counselling, support and information services for children and young people, families and youth work professionals. Special mention should be made of the newly launched website of the Federal Centre for Health Education (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung) “Staying emotionally stable" ("Psychisch stabil bleiben"), which raises awareness of the subject of psychological stress. Other information can be found at http://www.fruehehilfen.de and https://www.elternsein.info/.
• The Post-Covid Action Programme for Children and Young People 2021 and 2022 (Aufholen nach Corona für Kinder und Jugendliche 2021 und 2022) is supporting young people with a two billion euro action programme. The programme aims, in particular, to help children catch up with schooling missed during the pandemic, but it also promotes recreational activities and strengthens children and young people and their families. The sum of 50 million euros, for example, has been earmarked to expand the Early Prevention programme (Frühe Hilfen). The German Sports Youth (Deutsche Sportjugend) will also increase its activities. The programme will also fund early childhood education, additional recreational and holiday activities as well as support services for children, young people and their families in their everyday life.
• The physical exercise campaign of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs (Bundesfamilienministerium) and German Sports Youth (Deutsche Sportjugend). This campaign addresses all 90,000 sports clubs and associations with the aim of offering children and young people greater opportunities for low-threshold, free sports and physical exercise. The federal government is investing a total of over two million euros this year and in the coming year.