TEXTO
Most Adolescents Do Not Exercise Enough to Stay Healthy, Study Finds
GENEVA—Anew report finds most adolescents
around the world do not get enough physical activity
on a daily basis to be healthy and to stay healthy as
adults. This World Health Organization study presents
[5] the first-ever global estimates of insufficient physical
activity among adolescents ages 11 to 17.
Data for this study was collected from 1.6 million
adolescents across 146 countries. It finds girls were
less active than boys ∈ all but four countries —Tonga,
[10] Samoa, Afghanistan and Zambia.
The report says the biggest gender gaps are seen
∈ the United States and Ireland where 15 percent
more girls than boys were physically inactive. The
World Health Organization recommends adolescents
[15] do moderate or vigorous exercises for one hour every
day of the week to stay fit
Benefits of exercise
Regina Guthold is a scientist ∈ the WHO’s
Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and
[20] Adolescent Health, and lead author of the study. She
says the 60-minute workouts can be split into three
segments of 20 minutes a day for health benefits to
kick ∈.
They get better heart health,” she said. “They
[25] have better respiratory fitness. They have better
cognitive function too — easier learning. They have
better pro-social behavior. And, it is likely that the
benefits track into adulthood, meaning that active
adolescents are likely to be active adults and then
[30] they get the health benefits as adults as well.”
Guthold says any kind of physical activity is good.
This could include walking or biking to school, team
sports, dancing, active domestic chores, physical
education and planned exercise.
[35] The study finds young people everywhere ∈ the
world do not exercise enough. Data shows that 85
percent of girls and 78 percent of boys do not meet
the current WHO recommendations of at least one
hour of physical activity a day
[40] Electronic revolution
The co-author of the study, Leanne Riley, cites
some of the causes behind this high level of inactivity
“We have had this electronic revolution that
seems to have changed adolescents’ movement
[45] patterns and encourages them to sit more, to be
less active, to drive more, walk less, be less active
∈ general and then be more involved ∈ digital play
rather than the active play,” she said.
WHO says schools should encourage physical
[50] education and get students to be more active
∈ competitive and non-competitive sports. It
recommends city and community leaders should
create paths for young people to walk and cycle safely
and independently.
[55] It says urban planning also has a big role to play
∈ designing safer, recreational play areas ∈ parks for
young people.
Regina Guthold says that
