Ten thousand steps and more. What if school uniforms, which are rarely tested in France, were a barrier to physical activity? More recent work does not support generalization. Researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, examined data from nearly 1.1 million children aged 5 to 17 worldwide in 135 countries. According to the results of their work Published in Journal of Sport and Health ScienceFebruary 15thWe see that in countries where uniforms are required in most schools, fewer young people tend to meet the 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). “The proportion of those following the recommendations is 16% in countries where the wearing of uniforms is common and 19.5% in countries where the majority of schools do not require uniforms.”specifies Mairead Ryan, researcher in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, who coordinated this work.

This difference is even more pronounced for girls in primary school. Furthermore, the gap between girls and boys is larger in high-income countries where uniforms are compulsory than in middle- or low-income countries. A 2021 study highlighted that the uniform discourages British teenage girls from taking part in certain activities. For example, wearing a skirt keeps them from doing cartwheels. “Other data also suggests that primary school-aged girls are more active and less sedentary on days when they are not wearing their usual uniform.”, the researchers also emphasize.

But whether uniform or not, less than half of the world’s children and young people adhere to the WHO’s recommendations; only half of boys and a third of girls aged 6 to 17 the 2022 edition of the “Report Card » from the National Observatory of Physical Activity and Sedentary Lifestyle (Onaps). The constant gap between boys and girls appears early, between ages 2 and 6, and widens with age. At the same time, sedentary lifestyles are reaching alarming proportions and screen time continues to increase.

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For this reason, the French government has declared physical and sports activity an important national concern and is trying to generalize the practice of 30 minutes of daily physical activity in primary schools. After reading this study, one might wonder whether the recently mentioned plans to wear uniforms risk counteracting this policy.

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