One in four young people aged 11 to 17 do not engage in any sport or physical activity. The World Health Organization disclosed the finding in a new report. The report is titled “A Generation Missing Out: Global Trends in Adolescent Physical Activity 2010-2025.” It was released on Wednesday. The findings are based on surveys in 140 countries involving more than three million participants.
Physical inactivity among adolescents has been a growing concern for the WHO since the 2010s. In 2018, the organisation launched the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity. It set targets to reduce inactivity by 15 per cent by 2030. Progress has been uneven. In Nigeria, urbanisation, insecurity and a lack of safe public spaces have reduced opportunities for young people to exercise. Schools cut physical education. Parents restrict outdoor play. Screen time increased. The pattern is global. It is also local.
Only 14 per cent of young people in the 11 to 17 age group engage in moderate to vigorous activity for at least one hour a day. That is the WHO’s recommended minimum. Girls are less active than boys in almost all countries. In 2025, more than a quarter of girls, 28 per cent, reported no physical activity on any day in the previous week. Around one in five boys, 22 per cent, reported the same. Girls were also less likely to report being active every day.
The WHO said adolescence is a critical period for establishing lifelong health behaviours. It stressed the need to encourage young people, particularly girls, to participate in regular physical activity. The report did not single out countries. The pattern was consistent across regions. The perception of what counts as moderate or vigorous activity varies by culture. The survey accounted for that.
The risks are severe. Physical inactivity is linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and poor mental health. The behaviours formed in adolescence often persist into adulthood. The WHO said a generation is missing out on the benefits of movement.
Winners: Fitness technology companies, which gain a market. Sports programmes, if investment follows. Public health advocates, who gain evidence. Losers: The one in four inactive adolescents, who face health risks. Girls, who are more likely to be excluded. Schools that cut physical education. Governments that fail to provide safe public spaces.
Bottom Line: A quarter of young people do no sport. Girls are worse off. The WHO has warned. The data is clear. Schools, parents and governments must act. Screens are winning. That is a public health problem.