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07 Jul 2025

Public health expert Willem van Mechelen at the FISU World Conference

How can health promotion in sport become truly sustainable? This central question will be at the heart of the FISU World Conference held during the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games – and it is also a core focus of Professor Dr. Willem van Mechelen’s research. The renowned Dutch medical doctor and public health expert, and professor of occupational and sports medicine is just one of the international experts sharing their expertise at the conference in Bochum. 

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Van Mechelen began his academic journey studying physical education in Amsterdam, where he quickly developed a fascination for physiology: “I was inspired by those who taught us anatomy and physiology,” he recalls. His desire to go deeper into the subject led him to study medicine – over the course of eight years, while simultaneously working as a teacher. 

Since then, his research has spanned many fields – from validating physiological testing methods in sport to leading major long-term studies like the Amsterdam Longitudinal Growth and Health Study. But over time, his focus shifted. “I realized that identifying risk factors doesn’t change behaviour,” he says. This led him to explore intervention strategies – only to find that these, too, often fail to bring about lasting health behaviour change. Today, he believes: “What we need is evidence-based policy action – including from scientists themselves.” 

One issue that continues to occupy his work is sports injury prevention. While effective, well-evaluated programs exist – such as those to prevent ankle or muscle injuries – the main challenge lies elsewhere: “The real difficulty is implementation and consistent application, both in amateur and professional sport,” says van Mechelen. 

Healthcare professionals play a key role

According to him, coaches and medical staff play a crucial role in creating structures that promote long-term health and wellbeing. This includes the use of targeted, evidence-informed preventive measures that are not yet standard practice everywhere. Noteworthy examples include the Nordic-hamstring-method, balance boards, or diagnostic tools like the SCAT-test for concussion detection. 

At the FISU World Conference, van Mechelen will also speak about the importance of the environment: “Context determines behaviour. When we create conditions that encourage or even require healthy behaviour, we help the population and athletes achieve lasting wellbeing.” This also includes sustainable mental health practices – a topic of growing significance in sports medicine. 

For van Mechelen, sport is not just a field of research, but also a personal passion. “In my twenties I played baseball. These days, I play golf and tennis, and I cycle every day,” he says – adding with a smile: “Once a PE teacher, always a PE teacher.”