Adults worldwide
About 1.8 billion adults did not meet recommended physical activity levels in 2022.
Moving, playing, learning and living actively — from ourselves to healthier families, communities and societies.
For children and adolescents aged 5–17 years, WHO recommends an average of at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day across the week.
Most activity should be aerobic. Vigorous-intensity aerobic activities, as well as activities that strengthen muscles and bones, should be incorporated at least 3 days per week.
Physical activity includes active play, walking, cycling, sport, recreation, physical education, transportation, household activities and many forms of everyday movement.
Physical activity is an important part of healthy growth and development. Regular movement supports physical fitness and contributes to cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal and psychological health.
For children and adolescents, movement is also part of everyday life: playing, travelling to school, participating in physical education, spending time outdoors, enjoying recreation and connecting with friends.
But physical activity is not simply a matter of individual motivation. Whether young people can move safely and enjoyably is influenced by families, schools, neighbourhoods, transport, public spaces, economic circumstances, disability access, cultural expectations and many other social determinants of health.
Global averages can reveal a major public health challenge — but they are only the beginning. Who is affected, where, and under what conditions matters too.
About 1.8 billion adults did not meet recommended physical activity levels in 2022.
About four in five adolescents do not meet recommended levels of physical activity.
Globally, 85% of girls aged 11–17 were insufficiently active, compared with 78% of boys.
Nearly 1.8 billion adults worldwide were insufficiently active in 2022.
Source: World Health Organization, Physical Activity Fact Sheet, 26 June 2024.
These are not tests and there are no perfect answers. They are invitations to notice your own relationship with movement.
How much time do I spend moving during a typical day?
What kinds of physical activity do I actually enjoy?
Do I walk, cycle or otherwise move as part of getting around?
How much uninterrupted time do I spend sitting?
When I have free time, what makes me want to move — or not move?
Do I have a form of activity that I can enjoy with friends or family?
Do I feel safe being physically active where I live or study?
Are there barriers that make physical activity difficult for me?
Could I make one small change that adds enjoyable movement to my day?
How could I help someone else find a safe, accessible and enjoyable way to be active?
Physical activity is a conversation between your muscles, heart, lungs, brain and many other systems. Your body responds to the demands placed on it.
Working muscles need more oxygen and nutrients. Heart rate rises and the cardiovascular system increases blood flow to help meet the demand.
Breathing becomes faster and deeper so the body can bring in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide produced during metabolism.
Working muscles produce heat. Sweating and increased blood flow near the skin help the body regulate temperature.
Repeated resistance movements can help muscles become better at producing force.
Example: practising controlled push-ups can improve the ability to perform push-ups.
Gradually repeated aerobic activity can improve the body's ability to sustain activity.
Example: a gradual walk–run programme can help someone become more comfortable with running.
Adaptation does not mean that harder is always better. Rest, recovery, sleep, nutrition and variation are important parts of sustainable activity.
To improve a particular physical skill, practice that skill. Swimming develops through swimming; cycling does not perfectly substitute for it.
Young people can benefit from experiencing different activities and movement skills rather than feeling pressured to specialize too early.
Sustainable improvement usually comes from appropriate progression rather than sudden large increases in training or activity.
Fitness is multidimensional. Different activities develop different capacities, and being fit is not the same thing as looking a particular way.
The ability of the heart, lungs and circulatory system to support sustained activity.
Examples include brisk walking, swimming, cycling and running.
The ability of a muscle or group of muscles to produce force.
Examples include resistance exercises, climbing and jumping.
The ability of muscles to continue performing a task over time.
Everyday activities can develop endurance as well as structured exercise.
The ability to move joints and body segments through an appropriate range of motion.
Mobility, control and comfortable movement all contribute to physical function.
FITT is a simple way to think about the characteristics of physical activity. It is a planning framework — not a universal prescription for every young person.
How often?
How hard does the activity feel?
How long does the activity last?
What kind of activity?
Physical activity is not a competition to see who can train the hardest. Enjoyment, recovery, safety, individual circumstances and consistency all matter.
Discover how play, walking, cycling, sport, recreation, school activities and everyday movement all contribute to an active life.
Understand WHO's recommendation and why it refers to an average across the week rather than a rigid daily performance test.
Learn how intensity differs and how effort can feel different during different activities.
Understand the different forms of activity that contribute to physical development.
Explore why reducing prolonged sedentary time and creating opportunities for movement matter.
Explore relationships between movement, cognition, concentration, school participation and wellbeing.
Consider how movement, recreation, social connection and outdoor activity can contribute to wellbeing.
Examine social, environmental, economic, cultural and structural barriers.
Discover how environments can make movement easier, safer, more inclusive and more enjoyable.
Connect individual experiences with population health, equity, policy and the life-course perspective.
Physical activity is connected with mental wellbeing. WHO notes that regular activity can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety and support brain health and overall wellbeing.
Movement can also create opportunities for friendship, recreation, time outdoors, participation and a sense of belonging.
But activity should not be presented as a cure for every emotional difficulty. Mental wellbeing is shaped by many biological, psychological and social factors.
Physical activity becomes a global health issue when we ask not only what individuals do, but also what conditions make healthy movement possible.
Physical activity is not distributed equally. Gender, socioeconomic circumstances, age, geography, disability, safety and access to facilities can all influence opportunities for movement.
Of adults aged 18+ in the Americas were insufficiently active in 2022.
The estimate was 40.6% among women and 30.5% among men.
PAHO/WHO, 2024.
More than four in five in-school adolescents in the African Region were insufficiently active.
About 22% of adults were also insufficiently active.
WHO Regional Office for Africa.
In the 2021/2022 HBSC survey, only 25% of boys and 15% of girls reported 60 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2024.
The important question is not simply: “How active are young people?”
It is also: “Which young people have fewer opportunities, and why?”
A population average can hide important differences. Global health explorers learn to ask who is represented inside the average.
Imagine that a country reports one national average for physical activity. Before accepting the number, ask:
This is the beginning of health inequality monitoring: using disaggregated data to understand who may be left behind and where action could make a difference.
People cannot always choose their opportunities for movement. Communities and systems can make physical activity easier, safer and more inclusive.
Walking and cycling become easier when streets, crossings and routes are designed with safety in mind.
Accessible parks, recreation areas and public spaces can create opportunities for play and activity.
Physical education, active breaks, recreation and supportive school environments can help young people move throughout the day.
Walking, cycling and active transportation can contribute to health while reducing congestion and environmental impacts.
Active environments should consider disability, affordability, safety, culture, gender and different abilities.
The goal is not to make everyone exercise in the same way. It is to expand meaningful opportunities for people to move.
The opportunity to be physically active is influenced by the conditions in which people live, learn, travel, play and grow.
Are there safe streets, parks, playgrounds, recreation spaces and accessible facilities?
Do education systems, transportation, urban planning, sport policy and public investment support active living?
How do poverty, inequality, urbanization, disability, gender and environmental conditions influence opportunities for movement worldwide?
“What helps young people around me be physically active, and what makes it harder?”
Think beyond yourself. Consider your family, school, neighbourhood and community. Then ask whether everyone has the same opportunities to be active.
Identify one enjoyable form of movement that you would like to include more often.
Invite a friend or family member to participate in an enjoyable and inclusive activity.
Identify one barrier to physical activity around you and think about how it could be reduced.
Ask how healthier environments can create opportunities for active lives across populations.
1. What is WHO's recommended average amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for children and adolescents aged 5–17?
Answer: 60 minutes per day on average across the week.
2. Which statement best reflects a social-determinants perspective on physical activity?
Answer: Physical activity is influenced by individual, social, environmental and structural conditions.
3. What does the SAID principle help explain?
Answer: The body adapts specifically to repeated demands.
4. Why should we look beyond population averages when studying physical activity?
Answer: Inequalities between population groups can be hidden inside an average.
I can make healthy choices for myself, and I can help create healthier conditions for others.
Being active is not only an individual choice. Young people also need safe, inclusive and enjoyable opportunities to move.
From active young people → to active and healthy societies → to healthy and active ageing.
Global guidelines: World Health Organization, Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour , 2020.
Global evidence update: World Health Organization, Physical Activity Fact Sheet, 26 June 2024.
Americas: Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), insufficient physical activity data, 2022 estimates.
African Region: WHO Regional Office for Africa, physical activity evidence.
Europe & Central Asia: WHO Regional Office for Europe, Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2021/2022 survey.
Health inequality monitoring: WHO Health Inequality Monitor and Health Inequality Data Repository, updated 2026.
GHE last reviewed: August 2026
Next scheduled review: August 2027