Skopje, 20 April 2026 (MIA) — Nearly 150 children took part in a day of sports and exercise that President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova hosted earlier Monday to promote a new national initiative for healthy youth habits.

The event included preschool, elementary and high school students. It marked the launch of a national model led by the Faculty for Physical Education, Sports and Health to boost physical activity for children ages 6 to 14 and improve their health.

Siljanovska Davkova encouraged children to prioritize exercise, hygiene and whole foods over processed products. She noted that physical education, once children's favorite class, now seemed underrepresented in modern curricula.

"Exercise your body and mind," she said. "If you don't use your mind, it will shut down. If you don't exercise your body, it will deform. If you exercise both, the result will be visible."

The president expressed worry over the number of overweight citizens in the country, urging the public to return to the traditional local diet rich in fruits and vegetables. She recalled that the region used to rely on simple, healthy diets to survive.

Siljanovska Davkova also praised the faculty for looking beyond academia to address the country’s broader health crisis, adding that physical education was "one of the most important subjects."

The initiative aims to use national data on fitness and nutrition to develop and implement a sustainable model promoting healthy habits, physical activity and mental health in schools. mr/