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In terms of daily physical effort among teens, France is collecting the donkey's cap of western countries with Australia and Italy. NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP

According to the United Nations agency for health, more than 80% of children between the ages of 11 and 17 do not do one hour of physical activity every day at least. This is the minimum recommended by specialists.

With our correspondent in Geneva, Jérémie Lanche

Are our teenagers becoming lazy? According to a study by the World Health Organization (WHO), the answer is yes. And France is particularly lagging behind, far more than the United States. With 87% of teenagers below the hour of physical exercise a day, the country is harvesting donkey bean from western countries with Australia and Italy. France is doing worse than Pakistan or Kenya.

This is only half astonishing to Dr. Regina Guthold, who initiated the WHO study. In the French school system, subjects such as " maths, French, languages " are more important than physical activity . " In France, I know that children go to school from morning to evening. They come home, they have homework to do. How can these children do one hour of physical activity a day if the whole day is full with school activities? "

In the top countries where young people move the most, there are Bangladesh, Ireland and the United States - where sport is better integrated into the school curriculum. The study also sees a widening gap between boys and girls, even fewer in physical activity. Two main reasons, according to WHO: the still widespread idea that sport is reserved for boys, and the feeling of insecurity that young women can feel in the public space.

► To go further : the WHO report

► Listen on RFI: Bigorexia, sports addiction