School uniforms may be barrier to physical activity among younger girls

The study confirms earlier findings that girls feel less comfortable participating in active play if they are wearing certain types of clothing, such as skirts or dresses. Photograph: Jerry Cooke/Corbis/Getty Images

Restrictive uniforms could be preventing primary school pupils, especially girls, from being physically active, research suggests.

In countries where most schools require students to wear uniforms, fewer young people reach the World Health Organization’s minimum recommendation of 60 minutes of physical activity a day across a whole week, according to a study by University of Cambridge.