A survey of just over 1,500 school pupils revealed that only 12 per cent of girls are reaching the standard level of fitness by age 14 – half the rate for boys, which is itself alarmingly low at 24 per cent.
More than half (51 per cent) of the girls said they had been put off exercise at school because of negative experiences of sport and PE lessons.
In the survey, carried out by the Institute of Sport at Loughborough University for the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF), 45 per cent of girls said sport at school was "too competitive" and 48 per cent said being sweaty was "not feminine".
A third of the boys interviewed by researchers said girls who were sporty were not very feminine.
The report highlights the importance of physical activity in combating obesity – pointing out that research shows British women are the most obese in Europe and the UK falls behind the OECD average for physical activity among 11 to 15-year-olds.
Sue Tibballs, chief executive of WSFF, said: "Our research shows that school sport and PE is actually putting the majority of girls off being active, even though three-quarters of girls are keen to do more exercise.
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