WHO sounds alarm over lack of physical activity among teens

The WHO's new global estimates found that when asked, one in four adolescents aged 11 to 17 report no active days defined as at least 60 minutes of moderate to

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a press conference on Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, in Geneva, on May 20, 2026. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The study, published in The Lancet Global Health, draws on hundreds of population-based surveys from 140 countries and territories, involving more than 3.2 million teens, WHO said.

When extrapolated, the findings amount to some 240 million young people with no active days in the span of a week, the United Nations health agency said.

Overall, adolescents partaking in the studies on average reported being active for 2.7 days a week, while only 14 percent reported being active on all seven days, the estimates showed.

The WHO warned that "physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers"

Source: Citizen Digital