International study finds Aussie kids are among the most inactive in the world

A world first global ranking of physical activity of youths has found young Australians are among the most inactive in the world.

The survey, conducted by The World Health Organisation, ranked Australia 140 out of 146 for physical activity among 11-17 year olds.

Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sport Science at the University of Western Australia, Dr Rebecca Braham told Tom Elliott the results are “concerning”.

“Whatever you’re doing as an adolescent is a good indicator of what you will do in adulthood, so if you’re inactive as a teenager chances are you’re going to be relatively inactive as an adult,” she said.

Another finding to come out of the research found that girls were less active than boys and were showing no signs of improvement.

“Sport in schools is changing… With girls they may not want to play competitive sport, so what do they do at school if there’s not the option to play competitive sport?”

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