Four in five teenagers not doing enough exercise, says World Health Organization
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Girls found to lag behind boys in staying active.
By Samuel Osborne
Four out of five teenagers in the UK are not doing enough exercise, according to a report from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Girls were found to lag behind boys in staying active, a trend one of the researchers described as ‘concerning’.
The figures are the first global estimates on physical activity among 11 to 17-year-olds, involving 1.6 million students from 146 countries.
Worldwide, girls on average were found to be less active than boys, with 84.7 per cent failing to reach the recommended exercise targets, which is slightly lower than the UK figure of 85.4 per cent.
Dr Leanne Riley, a researcher at the WHO and one of the study authors, said: ‘The trend of girls being less active than boys is concerning.
‘More opportunities to meet the needs and interests of girls are needed to attract and sustain their participation in physical activity through adolescence and into adulthood.’
The WHO recommends adolesce...
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