SHAH ALAM, Nov 25 — About 90 per cent of teenage girls in Malaysia are not doing enough physical activities, according to a global study published last week.
The study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal was carried out between 2001 and 2016 of some 1.6 million students aged between 11 and 17 years old across 146 countries.
According to the study, about 0.3 per cent (91.1 per cent) of the teenage girls had exercised more in 2001 compared to 91.4 per cent of them not exercising in 2016.
As for teenage boys in Malaysia, more of these boys were getting physical activity as the number of boys not exercising in 2001 was 82.5 per cent, whereas 80.6 per cent boys were not exercising in 2016.
The study said that over 80 per cent of school-going adolescents worldwide had not met the current recommendations by WHO for daily physical activity, which is doing at 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity daily.
“Although the prevalence of insufficient physical activity has slightly decreased in boys since 2001, there was no change over time in girls, and if these trends continue, the global target of a 15 per cent relative reduction in insufficient physical activity — which would lead, if met, to a global prevalence of less than 70 per cent by 2030—will not be achieved.
“Current evidence suggests that many of those health benefits carry forward into adulthood. Furthermore, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting a positive impact of physical activity on cognitive development and prosocial behaviour,” the study read.
The study showed that overall, about 86 per cent of teenagers in Malaysia were not exercising enough. This reflects the current trend in Malaysia to be consistent with global trends as shown in the study.
Malaysia is one of the 14 countries under the East and Southeast Asia region included in the study.
Other regions included in the study were categorised as central and eastern Europe, central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, high-income Asia Pacific, high-income western countries, Latin America and Caribbean, Oceania, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
The study had recommended for all countries to develop or update national policy and implementation plans on physical activity.
“Most importantly, [to] allocate the necessary political priority and resources to enable implementation, or their commitment to increase physical activity will not be achieved.
“Without exception, all countries should prioritise policy and programmes that target children and adolescents, especially girls,” the study read.
