About a 65% of the Costa Rican population are either inactive or sedentary, according to the data provided by the 2016 Current Affairs Poll: Intensity of Physical Activity in Costa Rica, situation that can generate cases of obesity, stress and cause other ailments such as depression, diabetes, high blood pressure among others.

According to the poll, women are more sedentary than men, a 71.8% of the female population does not practice any physical activity, in comparison 57.8% of the male population. It also shows that people with children are less sedentary (60.2%) versus a 70.2% of those that don’t have children.

The poll was done by students of third year of the Statistics career of the University of Costa Rica, and included a face to face interview with a sample of 1,059 Costa Ricans 18 years and older that answered questions about 11 current affairs.

The study also showed that an average of 37% of the population is suffering from overweight, while obesity is affecting close to 20% of “ticos”. Another variable showed that normal weight is registered between the ages of 18-29, and both overweight and obesity begins with more intensity at 30 years of age.

According to Roselyn Rojas Rodríguez, one of the students involved in the investigation, some of the causes mentioned by people for being sedentary include, the lack of education since childhood in the importance of the practice of physical activity, not having enough time, and the nonexistence of appropriate places for the practice of sports.

Dr. José Moncada Jiménez, director of the Center of Investigation for Sciences of Human Movement, indicated that the practice of physical activity has countless benefits, “Aerobic activities such as walking, jogging or riding a bike are excellent to reduce stress, depression and improve the mood, it is not necessary to exceed the amount of exercise, just increasing it a little is already enough to enjoy its benefits”.