MOSCOW, November 16 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s consumer watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has backed the introduction of school uniforms for all, saying they help keep children healthy, a press release on the agency’s site says.
The agency’s head, Gennady Onishchenko, has written to the agency’s regional HQ setting out the health benefits wearing school uniforms offers children. The letter was highly detailed, and referred to the specific benefits of particular elements of a school uniform.
Wearing hats in class and PE, the letter said, “can help improve muscle tension in the occipital region of the head and shoulder area.”
Onishchenko claimed to have hard evidence that, alongside school meals and other measures such as ensuring schools are properly equipped, uniforms help protect children from skin infections, colds, flu and other illnesses caused by poor quality and unsafe clothing.
Onishchenko is no stranger to controversial comments on health issues. Last month he sparked uproar by telling Russians it was unwise to drink and drive, even when the drink in question was kefir, a mildly-fermented sour milk drink with an alcohol content of under 1 percent.