The World Health Organization says the world has made “almost no progress” in getting young people moving over the past 15 years, with levels of adolescent physical activity virtually unchanged since 2010.

According to the WHO report A generation missing out: Global trends in adolescent physical activity, 2010-2025, some 240 million young people aged 11 to 17 reported not completing at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on a single day. On average, adolescents reported being active on just 2.7 days a week, and only 14 per cent reported being active on all seven.

Infrastructure, not lectures

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus framed the problem as one of environment rather than individual effort.

"For 15 years, the world has made almost no progress in getting young people moving, and girls are being left furthest behind,“ he said. ”The answer is not to tell adolescents to try harder. It is to build schools, streets and communities where moving, playing and being active is safe, easy and normal."

No country on track

The report states that 86 per cent of adolescents reported fewer than seven active days in 2025, a figure that has not changed since 2010. No country is on track to meet the global target of a 15 per cent relative reduction in physical inactivity by 2030, and without accelerated action, adolescent inactivity is projected to remain largely unchanged for the rest of the decade.

WHO notes that physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers, making it critical to help young people develop active habits early in life.

The study draws on 389 population-based surveys from 140 countries and territories, involving more than 3.2 million adolescents.

Girls left behind

The gender gap remains strikingly persistent, according to the findings:

  • Some 28 per cent of girls reported no active days, compared with 22 per cent of boys.
  • Only 11 per cent of girls reported being active every day, compared with 17 per cent of boys.
  • Girls were less active than boys in almost every country and every WHO region.

There were also stark differences between countries. In some, just 4 per cent of adolescents reported no active days; in others, the figure exceeded 40 per cent.

Barriers vary, action urged

WHO said there is no single explanation for the lack of progress. Transport patterns, access to safe public spaces, opportunities for safe walking and cycling, school environments, affordability, social norms and increasingly screen-based lifestyles can all shape adolescents' opportunities to be active.

The agency called for stronger action across the education, transport, urban planning, sport and health sectors, alongside efforts to tackle the barriers faced by girls, including promoting physical activity in schools and investing in safe walking and cycling routes.