Physical activity during adolescence supports current and future physical and mental health and helps prevent noncommunicable diseases. The number of active days per week is the most widely collected measure of adolescent physical activity.
Definition:
Percentage of adolescents aged 11–17 years who reported no active day in the past 7 days (0 active days per week).
An active day is a day on which an adolescent reports at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).
Associated terms:
An active day is a day on which an adolescent reports at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).
Disaggregation:
Sex, age
Method of measurement
Self-reported physical activity, in response to the following survey question or similar: “During the past 7 days, on how many days were you physically active for a total of at least 60 min per day?”, with answers from 0 to 7 days.
Method of estimation:
Data were from population-based surveys that collected self-reported number of active days in the past week among adolescents aged 11–17 years. Most data were from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study or were global school-based student health surveys. Bayesian hierarchical ordinal regression models were used to estimate the distribution of active days per week and mean active days per week, by sex, age, country, and year. Separate models were fitted for boys and girls. The model borrows information within regions through country, region and survey random effects, so estimates are available for countries, ages and years without data. Country estimates are published only if survey data were included for the country.
Full details are available in: Strain T, Flaxman SR, Ricardo LIC, et al, and the Country Data Author Group. National, regional, and global trends in adolescent physical activity from 2010 to 2025: a pooled analysis of 389 surveys with 3·2 million participants from 140 countries. Lancet Glob Health 2026; published online 4 November 2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langlo.2026.104099
Method of estimation of global and regional aggregates:
Global estimates as well as estimates for WHO regions and World Bank income groups were produced. Country estimates were combined for each group, weighting them by the population of adolescents aged 11 to 17 years in each country. Estimates for all countries, including those with no survey data, were used to make regional and global estimates. For World Bank income groups, groupings for the year 2025 were used, since 2025 was the final estimation year.
Preferred data sources:
Population-based surveys (typically conducted in schools)
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