Indian kids 8th most active in the World, says WHO report

Children in India are the 8th most active in the world, according to a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

According to a global study published in the renowned medical journal The Lancet, Indian girls are the second most active in the world. The study is based on nearly 300 school-based surveys conducted across 146 countries. Bangladesh tops the charts with the United States coming in second.

WHO study assessed all types of physical activities - recreation, sports, active domestic chores, walking, cycling, physical education and planned exercise.

However, the activities chart has improved for boys since 2001, there's been no improvement for girls. In fact, in 27 countries like Afghanistan, the proportion of inactive girls has increased above 90 percent.

In fact, high-income Asia Pacific region driven by South Korea, had the highest prevalence of insufficient activity, both for boys and girls. High-income Western countries (driven by the USA with more focus on sports) had the lowest prevalence of inactivity in boys at 72.1 percent and South Asia is driven by Bangladesh and India (both lower-middle-income countries) had the most active girls at 77.5 percent.

Bangladesh, in fact, has the most active adolescents and ranks number 1. Good news for India, it too ranks 8th in the world rankings for having the least proportion of inactive kids. Indian girls are the second most active in the world after Bangladesh.