One in four adolescents worldwide does not get at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day, according to new global estimates released by the World Health Organization (WHO). Girls are particularly worse off, with consistently lower activity levels than boys.The findings carry important public health implications. Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Building active habits during adolescence is critical to preventing ill health in adulthood. Yet, the latest estimates suggest that global efforts to improve physical activity among young people have made little headway. The study, published in The Lancet Global Health, estimates that around 240 million adolescents aged 11–17 years do not achieve 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on any day of the week. Adolescents reported being active on an average of just 2.7 days a week, while only 14% said they were active every day.India, however, finds itself missing from this global assessment. Researchers could not include the country in their analysis because they did not identify nationally or large sub-nationally representative surveys meeting the study’s criteria. The absence of reliable, comparable data is a significant gap, particularly for a country grappling with a growing burden of non-communicable diseases.What the study foundDrawing on 389 population-based surveys across 140 countries and territories, covering more than 3.2 million adolescents, the study found that physical activity levels have remained virtually unchanged over the past 15 years. “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, he added, was not simply to tell adolescents to try harder but to build schools, streets and communities where movement, play and physical activity are safe, easy and normal.No country on track for 2030 targetIn 2018, WHO member states adopted a global target of reducing physical inactivity by 15% in 2030. However, no country is currently on track to meet it, said study author Tessa Strain, Chancellor’s Fellow at the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre, University of Edinburgh.Explaining India’s exclusion, Strain told The Indian Express that the researchers were looking for nationally or large sub-nationally representative surveys conducted since 2008, using a specific question to assess physical activity among adolescents aged 11–17 years. “We considered over 15 surveys in detail, but there was always at least one reason to exclude them,” she said.Story continues below this adIndia needs stronger school-level actionWHO officials said India’s FIT India movement, with its emphasis on promoting yoga and fitness, was a starting point, but more concerted policy action was needed. Dr Fiona Bull, Unit Head, Physical Activity Promotion and Alcohol Harm Prevention, WHO, said schools must ensure that physical activity, active recreation and sporting opportunities are available to all students, particularly girls.Urban planning, too, must prioritise safe walking and cycling routes and accessible public spaces such as parks. Prof Rajiv Yeravdekar, Provost, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Symbiosis International, said India had taken several steps to integrate physical activity into education through initiatives such as FIT India and Khelo India. The National Education Policy 2020 recognises sports and physical education as integral to holistic learning, while the University Grants Commission has issued guidelines encouraging higher education institutions to promote fitness and student well-being. The CBSE has also mandated a daily health and physical education period for Classes I to XII.“India has made a start through policy and institutional initiatives. However, the real opportunity is to move from sports as an extracurricular activity to being an integral part of education and life,” he said.Girls continue to be left behindThe gender divide remains stark. Twenty-eight per cent of girls reported no active days in the week, compared with 22% of boys. Only 11% of girls reported being active every day, against 17% of boys. Girls were less active than boys in almost every country and WHO region.There were also wide variations across countries: while in some, only 4% of adolescents reported no active days, the proportion exceeded 40% in others. Access to safe public spaces, transport options, school facilities, affordability, social norms and increasingly screen-based lifestyles all shape opportunities for physical activity. For girls, additional social and safety-related barriers can further restrict participation.Story continues below this adWHO has called for coordinated action across education, transport, urban planning, sport and health sectors. The challenge, it says, is not merely to persuade adolescents to exercise more, but to create an environment in which movement is an accessible, safe and routine part of growing up.