{
  "id": 11203673,
  "title": "59.1 percent of Saudi adults physically active for 150 minutes or more weekly",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/59-1-percent-of-saudi-adults-physically-active-for-150-minutes-or",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-01T12:58:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Saudi Gazette",
    "slug": "saudi-gazette",
    "url": "https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/665023/saudi-arabia/591-percent-of-saudi-adults-physically-active-for-150-minutes-or-more-weekly"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) has revealed that over 59 percent of Saudi Arabia's population aged 18 and above participated in at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week in 2025. This figure, derived from the National Health Survey, breaks down to 66.5 percent for males and 43.1 percent for females, both based on self-reported data. The highest levels of physical activity were found among individuals aged 18-29, with a rate of 71.2 percent, followed by the 30-39 age group at 62.6 percent and the 40-49 group at 56.1 percent. Conversely, the rate dropped to 27 percent among those aged 60-69, 18 percent among 70-79-year-olds, and 3.5 percent among those 80 and older.\n\nPhysical activity in Saudi Arabia is predominantly transportation-related, involving walking or cycling to reach destinations, which accounted for 57.1 percent of all physical activity. Work-related physical activity followed at 43.9 percent, while non-work-related physical activity contributed 37.8 percent. On average, adults spent 309 minutes daily sitting or lying down, excluding sleep, with women averaging 319 minutes and men 304 minutes. Among children and adolescents aged 5-17, 19 percent engaged in at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily, with 23.3 percent of males and 14.4 percent of females meeting this standard. Sedentary behavior was significant, with 34.6 percent of children and adolescents spending between one and less than two hours per day in sedentary activities, such as watching television, excluding school time. The survey, based on the 2025 National Health Survey and Women and Child Health Survey, along with GASTAT's population estimates, highlights the prevalence of these patterns in Saudi society.",
  "summary": "RIYADH — Over 59 percent of Saudi Arabia’s population aged 18 and older engaged in at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week in 2025, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). Results from the National Health Survey showed that 59.1 percent of the Kingdom’s population aged 18 and older met this level of physical activity, with the rate reaching 66.5 percent among males…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}