Filipino teens among least physically active globally — WHO study

MANILA, Philippines — About two in five Filipino adolescents reported getting less than an hour of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, falling behind their counterparts around the world.

The World Health Organization's latest survey foudn tha taround 40% of adolescents aged 11 to 17 in the Philippines reported having no "active day" in a week.

An active day was defined as one with at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, such as brisk walking, cycling, playing sports or other activities that raise the heart rate.

The study, published in The Lancet Global Health, draws on hundreds of population-based surveys from 140 countries and territories, involving more than 3.2 million teens.

The Philippines was grouped with Namibia and Nepal, where around 40% of adolescents also reported no active days. By comparison, the global average was about 25%. This makes the Philippines' youth among the least active in the world.

Over the years, overall inactivity barely changed and even marginally declined in the Philippines, from 40.85% in 2010 to 40.32% in 2025.

Filipino girls are even less active than their male counterparts in the 2025 findings, with 42.7% reporting having no active day compared with 38% of boys.

The trend is similar globally. Only 11% of girls said they were active every day, compared with 17% of boys.

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

Source: World Health Organization, physical activity data, Philippines, 2021–2025.

Worldwide, one in four adolescents aged 11 to 17 reported no active days in the previous week, according to estimates published in The Lancet Global Health.

That amounts to around 240 million young people.

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

On average, adolescents reported being active for 2.7 days a week, while only 14% said they were active for at least 60 minutes on all seven days.

The WHO warned that physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

"Helping young people develop active habits early in life is critical to protecting their health and reducing the global burden of these diseases," the agency said.

The study found little global progress over the past 15 years, with adolescent physical activity levels remaining virtually unchanged since 2010.

The WHO said physical activity depends partly on the environments in which adolescents live, study and travel.

Access to safe public spaces, opportunities to walk or cycle, transportation systems, school environments, affordability and social norms can all affect how active young people are. Increasingly screen-centered lifestyles may also play a role.

"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," Tedros said.

The WHO called for stronger action across education, transport, urban planning, sports and health to make physical activity easier and safer for young people.

"Countries need policies that make physical activity an easy, safe and accessible part of everyday life," the agency said. — Camille Diola with Agence France Presse

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