The numbers are striking. In France, 45.2% of teenage girls stopped participating in sports before the age of 15, according to a January 13 study by the French health insurance provider MGEN. This is a worrying finding, as the girls said they quit “despite a real interest in the sport they practiced.” Conducted by the Kantar Institute with 507 girls aged 13 to 20 who had stopped sports between September and October 2025, the survey showed that most of these decisions were driven by factors beyond their control. Other research confirmed this trend, as highlighted in the 2022 edition of the report from the National Observatory for Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior (ONAPS).
More broadly, the data is consistent: At all ages, boys are more physically active than girls. This holds globally, according to a 2024 report from the World Health Organization (WHO). In France, 51% of boys and 33% of girls aged 6 to 17 reach the level of physical activity recommended by the WHO, according to a study by the National Public Health Agency.
“The drop-off happens during adolescence, and since fewer girls participate in the first place, the situation is even more alarming,” said Alicia Fillon, an engineer at ONAPS. The data backs her up. The number of girls registered in Olympic sports federations plummeted by 55% between ages 10 to 14 (831,000 registered) and ages 15 to 19 (375,000), according to 2024 data from the National Institute for Youth and Education. The decrease is similar for boys (49%), but their numbers remain much higher, with 709,000 registered between 15 and 19.
You have 59.64% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
