Exploring the Lack of Physical Activity among Adolescents Worldwide

Dalmacito A. Cordero

doi:10.4093/dmj.2025.0181

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Letter Exploring the Lack of Physical Activity among Adolescents Worldwide: Dalmacito A. Cordero Jr.; Diabetes & Metabolism Journal 2025;49(3):513-515.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4093/dmj.2025.0181
Published online: May 1, 2025

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Department of Theology and Religious Education (DTRE), De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines

Corresponding author: Dalmacito A. Cordero Jr.

Department of Theology and Religious Education (DTRE), De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Malate, 1004 Manila, Philippines E-mail: dalmacito.cordero@dlsu.edu.ph

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Every family hopes to achieve good health for all its members, especially parents who strive harder to ensure their children’s well-being. One way to achieve good health is by being physically active. The World Health Organization defines physical activity (PA) as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure. It includes all movement, including walking, cycling, wheeling, sports, active recreation, and play, and can be done at any level of skill [1]. PA has many benefits to human health. It can help in building strong bones and muscles, control weight, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and reduce the risk of developing health conditions such as cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and obesity [2]. Increasing or maintaining the frequency of PA after the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) may also lower the risk of heart failure [3]. On the other hand, the lack of PA is associated with diabetes mellitus and other metabolic diseases. It is a risk factor for T2DM. The excessive free fatty acid released by adipose tissue leads to a decrease in insulin sensitivity of muscle, fat, and liver, which is followed by raised glucose levels, insulin resistance, and T2DM. Physical inactivity accelerates the pathogenesis of T2DM and subsequently leads to excess morbidity and mortality [4,5]. It must be noted that adipose tissue plays critical roles in the regulation of systemic glucose and lipid metabolism and secretes bioactive molecules possessing endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine functions. Dysfunctional adipose tissue has a detrimental impact on metabolic health and is intimately involved in key aspects of metabolic diseases such as insulin resistance, lipid overload, inflammation, and organelle stress [6]. In short, it causes the body to become less efficient at using glucose and impairs its ability to regulate blood sugar effectively. Unfortunately, the lack of PA has been identified as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality, causing an estimated 3.2 million deaths globally. Recent data also show that 23% of adults and 81% of school-going adolescents are not active enough [1]. Less and less PA is occurring in many countries. Thus, this paper aims to present the situation of PA among adolescents worldwide and explore some interventions to address this pressing health issue.

The United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) #3 recommends that every nation ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages. It emphasizes the importance of the promotion of PA, especially among children and adolescents who are capable enough to do such physical movements. The lack of PA is becoming a serious public health concern worldwide. In the Philippines, for example, The first-ever Philippine Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents reported that most Filipino youth and adolescents were among the most physically inactive globally, with only 15.4% meeting the global PA recommendation [7]. Around 27 million Filipinos are overweight and obese. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among adolescents have more than doubled from 4.9% in 2003 to 11.6% in 2018. It is projected that more than 30% of Filipino adolescents will be overweight and obese by 2030 [8]. While the Philippines had the highest prevalence of insufficient activity among boys, South Korea showed the highest levels among girls. In 2016, more than 80% of school-going adolescents aged 11 to 17 did not meet current recommendations for daily PA. Other countries showing the most significant decreases in boys being insufficiently active were Bangladesh (from 73% to 63%), Singapore (78% to 70%), Thailand (78% to 70%), Benin (79% to 71%), Ireland (71% to 64%), and the USA (71% to 64%). However, among girls, changes were small, ranging from a two-percentage-point decrease in Singapore (85% to 83%) to a one-percentage-point increase in Afghanistan (87% to 88%) [9].

Many adolescents worldwide live a sedentary lifestyle that does not encourage more PA. Sitting and playing online games for a few hours, they simultaneously consume a lot of food ordered through online fast-food chains. Some also do this untimely and overeat, even when lying down watching TV or before sleeping. These poor eating habits are repeated without physical exercise, especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, where they must stay home due to lockdowns. Thus, it gives rise to the many cases of overweight and obesity. Overweight and obesity are abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a health risk. The physical mechanism of a balance between energy expenditure and consumption maintains weight. When the human body burns fewer calories either because of decreased physical exercise or increased eating, the result is obesity. The final image is of excessive and abnormal fat accumulated in the body [10].

With this scenario, governments and other institutions must create interventions and address the lack of PA among adolescents to address the lack of PA. In Korea, for example, to protect people from chronic diseases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has implemented a range of tailored policies, focusing on the unique characteristics of each chronic disease. These policies include operating noncommunicable diseases surveillance, developing prevention and control guidelines, promoting early diagnosis and continued treatment, conducting research to generate evidence-based practices, establishing a platform on information, and training of healthcare professionals [11]. These policies can serve as a model for other countries like the Philippines. In addition, every country must allocate sufficient funding to construct more public parks, playgrounds, sports sites, gymnasiums, and other venues for games and exercise. Financial resources are always a serious challenge in the country, especially in rural areas where the local government cannot afford such constructions. Second, even if these facilities are available, more adolescents must be willing to engage in PA. Thus, the government must organize more sports competitions, family fun games, walk/run for a cause, and other related public gatherings. Third, effectively promoting these PA programs and initiatives is a must. The government can fully utilize the different forms of mass media, especially the various social media platforms, to broadcast these programs. They can even invite famous personalities like content creators and local celebrities with a huge fanbase to make it more enticing for the public.

In the same way, the role of schools and different church groups is vital for this cause. Aside from the physical education classes, which are part of the usual curriculum, the administration must enhance the implementation of outbound education activities that engage students outside the classroom, such as nature tripping, hiking, team-building exercises, etc. The different church groups, on the other hand, can organize youth camps, Shibashi, yoga, and other meditation exercises that are interesting to the youth since these can be done in teams or groups. Lastly, families are crucial in ensuring an adequate PA for their children. Parents must adopt healthy eating patterns and prepare a balanced diet daily. They must also set rules on the allowable screen time for their children when using the TV, computers, and other gadgets to prevent them from being sedentary or motionless for extended periods. Another way is to create family habits to enhance physical movements, such as weekend jogging at the park, joining family fun-run events, family day adventure camps, and many others. Parents who serve as models to their children have a more substantial impact on their overall development.

Engaging in any PA benefits the young ones in many ways. Though virtual technology can influence them in this digital age, which prevents them from more physical movement, we must encourage them with our examples and provide more opportunities for them to engage in such activities. It is fun to play with them and surely more fun to see them mature healthily and actively.

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CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

REFERENCES

1. World Health Organization. Physical activity. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physicalactivity (cited 2025 Apr 1).
2. Communicable Disease Center (CDC). Physical activity facts. Available from: https://archive.cdc.gov/#/details?url=https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm (cited 2025 Apr 1).Article
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8. UNICEF Philippines. Everybody needs to act to curb obesity. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/philippines/pressreleases/everybody-needs-act-curb-obesity (cited 2025 Apr 1).
9. Guthold R, Stevens GA, Riley LM, Bull FC. Global trends in insufficient physical activity among adolescents: a pooled analysis of 298 population-based surveys with 1·6 million participants. Lancet Child Adolesc Health 2020;4:23-35.Article PubMed PMC
10. Gordeladze JO. Adiposity: epidemiology and treatment modalities. Rijeka: IntechOpen; 2017 Chapter 1, Introductory chapter: obesity–a worldwide problem [cited 2025 Apr 1]. Available from: https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/54140.
11. Jee Y. Ensuring heathy lives with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency: partnership with the Korean Diabetes Association. Diabetes Metab J 2023;47:767-8.Article PubMed PMC PDF

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