China's sports science institute trumpets national fitness rise

The China Institute of Sports Science has detailed a series of major scientific and technological achievements made during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), highlighting the growing role of innovation in advancing national fitness and elite sports performance.

At Monday's presentation event in Beijing, the institute highlighted what it called 10 key achievements in sports science, with detailed briefings on the Bulletin of the Sixth National Physical Fitness Survey, the Bulletin on the 2025 National Fitness Activity Survey, and science-driven support for Olympic preparation.

According to the sixth national physical fitness monitoring survey, which covered 243,600 people across all 31 provincial-level regions, China's physical fitness compliance rate has reached 84.9 percent, up 0.8 percentage points from 2020. The latest survey was the first to adopt the revised 2023 National Physical Fitness Assessment Standards.

Feng Qiang, an associate researcher at the institute, said the data point to a sustained improvement in overall fitness levels nationwide, with particularly notable gains among children and older adults. The physical fitness gap between urban and rural residents has also continued to narrow.

The monitoring program introduced a new model combining real-time data uploads with personalized fitness guidance, offering participants tailored, science-based exercise plans. Meanwhile, the Bulletin on the 2025 National Fitness Activity Survey showed that 38.52 percent of the population regularly participates in physical exercise, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from 2020. Per capita sports consumption and access to sports facilities have also improved significantly.

Scientific support for Olympic preparation was another focus of Monday's event. Xu Jianfang, head of the institute's science and technology department, said researchers were embedded within national teams during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, leading to a number of technological breakthroughs.

Key achievements include the localization of critical equipment such as high-performance shooting jackets and intelligent arrow-selection systems, as well as the deployment of a dedicated sports rehabilitation support vehicle for Olympic preparation. Xu also highlighted independently developed swimming traction and resistance training devices that are now supporting scientific training for athletes.

The institute has also stepped up efforts to address health concerns among young people. Data from a physical fitness intervention program involving 15,000 primary school students show a declining increase in those classified as overweight or obese, reduced increases in myopia, and a marked decline in the risk of scoliosis among participants. Now expanded to 12 provinces, the program forms an integrated system that combines physical assessment, exercise intervention and health education.

In the area of international cooperation, the institute has signed a sports and health technology cooperation agreement with the International Olympic Committee and reached a preliminary agreement with the World Health Organization to develop an international consensus on national physical fitness indicators.

Institute director Cao Jingwei said the organization will continue to align its work with the goal of building China into a leading sporting nation. According to Cao, during the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), the institute aims to accelerate high-level self-reliance in sports science and technology, while prioritizing breakthroughs in athlete performance enhancement and exercise-based health promotion.