Over the past two decades, Chinese college students have witnessed a continuous decline in physical health, with core fitness indicators such as cardiopulmonary endurance and muscle strength deteriorating significantly. The prevalence of health problems including overweight, obesity, and hypertension has been on the rise, and the phenomenon of “brittle-skinned college students” has attracted widespread public attention. In this context, the traditional physical education (PE) curriculum system focused on “skill transmission” can no longer meet the “health-first” educational philosophy and the practical needs of improving students' physical fitness. Using a literature review method, this paper systematically analyses relevant research findings from 2018 to 2025, focusing on four key aspects: the current status and causes of college students' declining physical health, existing challenges in university PE curricula, core reform approaches and practical explorations, as well as research controversies and future prospects. The study aims to clarify the reform logic, summarize practical experiences, and provide theoretical and practical support for establishing a new university PE curriculum system cantered on physical health promotion. The research indicates that current reforms need to address bottlenecks such as institutional fragmentation, unbalanced course content, single evaluation methods, and technological backwardness. By building a “testing-teaching-feedback” closed-loop system, optimizing course content, innovating teaching and evaluation models, and enhancing digital empowerment, PE curricula can shift from “exam-oriented compliance” to “lifelong health” education.

Mingchen Xu, Hamdan Mohd Ali. Research on the Reform of College Physical Education Courses under the Background of the Decline of College Students' Physical Health. International Journal of Educational Innovation and Science (2026), Vol. 7, Issue 1: 17-23. https://doi.org/10.38007/IJEIS.2026.070103.

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