Two thirds of 11-17 year olds are at risk to their health because of time spent in front of screens and a lack of physical activity, according to a recent opinion from the National Health Security Agency.

Among the risks involved: overweight, obesity or poorer quality sleep.

Danger alert on the health of French adolescents.

According to a recent opinion from the National Health Security Agency (ANSES), they stay too long in front of their screens and do too little physical activity, resulting in a risk to their health.

Thus, two thirds of 11-17 year olds are affected because they spend more than two hours in front of screens and do less than an hour of physical activity per day, danger thresholds.

Among these risks are overweight and obesity, cardiovascular risks or diabetes, but also poorer quality sleep, lists ANSES.

>> Find all the newspapers of the editorial staff of Europe 1 in replay and podcast here

A worrying assessment

This is the first time that the health agency presents this analysis of a generation.

There is therefore no point of comparison, but it is rare that ANSES results in such a worrying assessment.

We will have to help teens by playing on two levers: reduce cell phone use and encourage them to do more sport.

For the first mission, we can only act on the margins, recognizes the coordinator of the study, Irène Margaritis, at the microphone of Europe 1. "It is difficult to imagine that without putting a lot of energy into it we manage to do You have to be creative to limit the risks. Every three quarters of an hour or every hour, you have to get up and be active for at least three to five minutes, in order to remobilize the metabolism. "

Containment feeds concern

Regarding the second lever, teenagers should not be forced.

Going to college on foot or by bike, for example, can be a good start.

ANSES also considers that special vigilance should be brought to girls aged 11 to 14, who are much less likely than boys to practice daily physical activity.

Finally, ANSES emphasizes that "children and adolescents from families with low income or with a low level of education appear to be the most affected by high levels of sedentary lifestyle".

The Agency is sounding the alert as spring and fall lockdowns fuel even more concern about physical inactivity and the time teenagers spend in front of screens.