More than 80% of adolescents not active enough, warns WHO

Sedentary lifestyles focused on screens are jeopardising health, says World Health Organization

More than 80% of adolescents worldwide are not active enough, putting their health at risk by sitting focused on a screen rather than running about, say World Health Organization (WHO) researchers.

The proportion of insufficiently active girls in 27 countries rose to more than 90% in 2016, the latest year for which figures are available. There was a significant gender gap, with girls lagging behind boys in physical activity, in all but four countries - Afghanistan, Samoa, Tonga and Zambia.