A Majority of The World ’s Teens Aren’t Getting Enough Physical Activity

Public health experts have worked hard to remind us about the importance of exercise—for mental as well as physical health. Research has linked physical activity to alleviating symptoms of depression; lowering risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity; and living longer. But the first global country-by-country report on teenagers’ physical activity suggests that the vast majority of the world’s teens aren’t getting the message. In a study published Nov. 21 in Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, researchers at the World Health Organization (WHO) analyzed the results of surveys that included 1.6 million adolescents aged 11 to 17 years from 146 countries in 2001 and then again in 2016. The teens answered questions about how much physical activity they got in school as well as on their own. Overall, 81% of the adolescents did not meet the WHO recommendations of one hour of moderate to vigorous activity a day in 2016. “It’s not a surprise how high the rates [of inactivity] are,” says Fiona Bull, program lead for physical activity in the department of health promotion at WHO and senior author of the study. “What is disappointing is that the efforts that have been made are not reaching the scale or impact that we would want, and the levels of inactivity remain high. That’s a great concern.” At the current rate, Bull notes, the WHO’s World Health Assembly’s goal of reducing teen inactivity by 15% gl...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized embargoed study Exercise Source Type: news