ACCORDING to the Lancet Child and Adolescent Health studies 2016, nine out of 10 teenage girls lack sufficient physical exercise.
Teenage boys are no better with eight out 10 not getting enough exercise.
The study was conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) based on a survey of 1.6 million school-going adolescents across 146 countries in 2016.
The study found that between the ages of 11 and 17, the teenagers did not do an hour of moderate exercise or physical activity at home or school.
This could be one of the contributing factors for teenage obesity compounded by poor eating habits worsened by their sedentary lifestyles connected to the computer or handphone.
Worse, many recreational parks are hijacked to make way for commercial development.
The Youth and Sports and Education ministries as partners must create a sports culture among our teenagers and even youth to promote a healthy lifestyle.
The once-a-year National Sports Day on Oct 10 with 10,000 schools, primary and secondary with a student population of 5.3 million students and 400,000 teachers taking part in various sporting activities for a day, cannot be a showpiece only.
An MTV survey in 2015 showed that our schoolchildren and youth are among the fattest in Southeast Asia.
Parents, teachers and our school system must address the issue of obesity which is on the rise; what is sold in our school canteens and to review how physical education is conducted at schools.
Schools and parents must encourage youth to be physically active which, in turn, will reduce emotional problems such as anxiety and depression which seems to be on the rise.
Some 2.6 million Malaysians suffer from diabetes; 5.2 million hypertension; 6.2 million high cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases.
Creating a sporting culture at our schools such as sporting carnivals, children taking part in runs, futsal and hockey will reduce the health budget in the long run and curb destructive behaviour such as drug taking, gangsterism, and illegal racing.
C. SATHASIVAM SITHERAVELLU
Seremban, Negri Sembilan