The findings indicate that around 240 million young people aged 11–17 did not meet the recommended daily physical activity level on any day of the week. On average, adolescents reported being physically active for just 2.7 days a week, while only 14% said they engaged in physical activity on all seven days.

The findings highlight a lack of global progress over the past 15 years, with physical activity levels among adolescents remaining virtually unchanged during this period.

Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for several non-communicable diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Encouraging young people to develop active habits early in life is crucial to protecting their long-term health and reducing the global burden of these diseases.

“For 15 years, the world has made almost no progress in getting young people moving, and girls are being left furthest behind,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“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,” he added.

The new study, published in The Lancet Global Health, draws on 389 population-based surveys conducted across 140 countries and territories, involving more than 3.2 million adolescents.

The gender gap in adolescent physical activity remains particularly striking. According to the findings, 28% of girls reported having no physically active days during the previous week, compared with 22% of boys. Only 11% of girls said they were active every day, compared with 17% of boys. Girls were less active than boys in almost every country and every WHO region.

Significant differences were also observed between countries. In some nations, just 4% of adolescents reported no physically active days during the previous week, while in others, the figure exceeded 40%.

There is no single explanation for the lack of global progress. Physical activity levels are influenced by the environments in which adolescents live, study, travel and spend their leisure time. Transport patterns, access to safe public spaces, opportunities for walking and cycling, school environments, affordability, social norms and increasingly screen-based lifestyles can all affect young people's opportunities to remain active.

The challenge, therefore, is not simply to persuade adolescents to exercise more but to create environments where physical activity becomes a natural and accessible part of everyday life.

The WHO is calling for stronger action across the education, transport, urban planning, sports and healthcare sectors, alongside targeted efforts to address the multiple barriers that prevent girls from participating in physical activities.

It has emphasised the need for countries to introduce policies that make physical activity safe, accessible and convenient for young people. Promoting exercise in schools, investing in safe walking and cycling infrastructure, and developing more activity-friendly communities can provide adolescents with greater opportunities to move, play and stay active in their daily lives.