Swiss soldiers increasingly unfit

Swiss soldiers are in poorer physical condition Keystone-SDA

The physical fitness of Swiss soldiers has declined since 2006, according to a study. Yet the soldiers say they are fitter than ever.

Since the mid-2000s, the average number of points achieved by recruits in the army’s fitness test has fallen from 74.2 to 70.4, the Federal Office of Sport said in a press release on Tuesday.

However, the proportion of soldiers who consider themselves to be fit has increased. It rose from 40% to 56% between 2006 and 2024.

This percentage has also risen among female recruits, from 50% to 64%. This is understandable, as fitness test results have improved for female soldiers. The number of points scored has risen from 45.4 to 49.9.

“Everyone tends to overestimate their own performance when self-assessing,” said the Federal Office of Sport. And the most popular sporting activities at present are often not sufficiently targeted to develop the specific skills required for the army’s fitness test, it said.

The federal office has analysed data from some 700,000 military personnel over a period of nearly 20 years. The Swiss Federal Institute of Sport in Magglingen, the Swiss Armed Forces and the University of Zurich took part in the study. It is described as one of the largest long-term studies in Europe on the objectively measured physical fitness of young adults.

+ How we produce news in English
Translated from French, reviewed by an English Department journalist.