GENEVA, 11th November, 2026 (WAM) -- A new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) highlights alarmingly low levels of physical activity among young people. Only 14% of adolescents worldwide meet the recommended 60 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, while one in four reported no active days at all in the previous week – equivalent to around 240 million adolescents.
The findings also reveal a persistent gender gap, with girls being less active than boys in almost every country: 28% of girls reported no active days in the previous week, compared with 22% of boys.
Sport is among the sectors identified by WHO that can help engage young people and create opportunities to participate, an area in which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Movement invest significantly through programmes promoting participation and more equal access to sport.
The figures underline the urgency of the challenge. With little progress made globally over the past 15 years, the findings reinforce the need for concerted action to get more young people moving.
The gender gap is particularly striking. Only 11% of girls meet the recommended level of physical activity, compared with 17% of boys, suggesting that policies and programmes need to further address the unique barriers to the participation of women and girls in sport and physical activity.
The WHO is calling for coordinated action across sectors, including sport, to create safe, accessible, affordable and enjoyable opportunities for adolescents to be physically active. Through its initiatives and programmes, the IOC is active in this area, working with partners across the Olympic Movement to inspire participation and expand access to sport for young people.
A central part of this work is the IOC’s Let’s Move campaign, developed in collaboration with WHO. In 2026, the campaign encourages young people to get active with the message “You Can Do This!”, helping them overcome self-doubt and take the first step towards movement, regardless of their experience or ability.
Beyond inspiring young people to get active, the IOC also works with partners to enable participation at community level. Since 2022, IOC-supported initiatives have reached over 50 million people through sport participation programmes, policy change, advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns, working across 42,000 organisations and supporting 107,000 coaches, teachers and healthcare workers. These programmes use sport to advance health, education, equality and inclusion, including initiatives reaching young people in underserved communities, helping bring to life the Olympic Social Impact ambitions of the IOC’s Fit for the Future strategy.