Most Filipino adolescents not physically active enough
You probably know it already, but the Philippines is well in its fitness era. Whether you’re running, lifting, getting on a bike, doing Pilates, playing pickleball, training for Hyrox, practicing martial arts, or just moving in any way, many adults are choosing to be active and exercise.
In fact, if we are to believe this data from Statista, the market for gyms and fitness training in the Philippines is projected to grow by 1.58 percent through 2030. It’s honestly a beautiful thing to see, and I’m especially proud of our generation for taking the reins of our health and wellness in ways that I’ve never really seen our parents do.
But not everyone is physically active
Despite millennials’ and Gen Z’s active lifestyles, some concerning data have emerged. According to data released last June by the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), 77.5 percent of Filipino adolescents aged 10 to 19 are considered “physically inactive.”
That means three out of four teens do not get at least 60 minutes of “moderate-to-vigorous intensity of mostly aerobic exercises” (as per the World Health Organization’s definition of physical activity) a day, spread throughout the week.
Meanwhile, the same data found that adults and senior citizens are actually moving more, with their physical inactivity rates dropping to 45.7 and 50.3 percent, respectively. The good news is that half of the Filipino adult population gets their movement in.
But the staggering rate of teenage Filipinos not moving is setting back the country’s attempt to reach the WHO’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018 to 2030, which is looking to cut down physical inactivity in adults and adolescents by 15 percent by 2030.
Why this matters
Simply put, the DOST-FNRI cares about how kids are moving (or not moving, in this case) because the lack of physical activity can lead to major “non-communicable diseases,” such as diabetes, cancer, heart problems, and other chronic illnesses later in life.
In addition to diseases, teens and adolescents who don’t move enough can experience weight gain (naturally), weaker bones, lower focus, bad sleep, and more foul moods and mental illnesses. There are a lot more downsides to not moving, and the teenage years really are a crucial time to get moving and keep moving.
Other than the fact that the teenage years are the time when kids are most into video games and screen time—which are increasingly either free or accessible at a minimal cost—leading to a sedentary lifestyle, the DOST-FNRI also acknowledges that the Philippines’ infrastructure doesn’t really provide much encouragement to go out and be more active, with a lack of safe open public spaces.
If you’re not privileged enough to be living in a neighborhood that doesn’t have wide open spaces for you to walk or run, you’re likely out of luck. And for a lot of Filipinos, that is the reality they’re working with.
How to get your teens to move
I’ve been there as a teenager, though, so I get it. Video games and the computer were much more fun, especially for myself, who wasn’t athletically talented back in my adolescence. Knowing what I know now, I would have told my younger self to at least start working out if I wasn’t going to play a sport.
It’s easier to get some teens moving. Since I frequent gyms and pass by basketball courts, I never see a lack of young people playing and simply getting active. (In fact, the findings of the DOST-FNRI are pretty surprising to me because I’m always seeing teens play outside.)
All they have to do is emulate their favorite athletes or work out in the gym to try and look like their idols.
For those who aren’t as athletically inclined, however, those are two of the three things you can do to convince them to get moving. Especially if the bad health effects of not moving aren’t enough to strike fear in their hearts.
The third thing is simply to walk more, and the advent of location and GPS technology has made that a lot more fun in this era. Augmented reality (AR) mobile games like Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now, Pikmin Bloom, and the like have gone a long way in gamifying and incentivizing walking. Honestly, I credit Pokémon Go for letting me get my steps in on days I couldn’t bring myself to the gym—and I’m in my mid-30s.
It’s never too late
The beautiful thing about youth and adolescence, though, is that it’s never too late to turn around and fix what needs to be fixed. It’s better that the DOST-FNRI put out these findings and sounded the alarm for teens because for almost all of them, there’s still time. It’s much better to correct any bad habits (or lack of a habit) when you’ve still got your whole life ahead of you than to regret everything at a much older age.
And even then, you still could turn things around when you’re older—so get moving while you can.
