Nearly a quarter of second-year junior high school girls nationwide do no exercise at all except in physical education classes at school, according to a government survey.

The figure of 23.5 percent is 6.2 points higher than the last time schoolgirls aged 13 and 14 were asked about exercising habits outside class on the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry's 2010 survey, the poll said Saturday.

The ministry examined the physical abilities of fifth-graders aged 10 and 11 and second-year junior high school students nationwide between April and July. More than 90 percent of elementary and junior high schools took part in the test.

The percentage of fifth-grade boys who reported doing no exercise outside school rose 2.3 points to 4.8 percent, while the figure for girls rose 4.6 points to 9.9 percent. The rate for second-year junior high school boys gained 2.9 points to 7.5 percent.