Longer commutes, busier parents, lack of safe and accessible recreation, combined with ready access to junk food and fast foods has made life for Costa Rican school kids more sedentary and filled with greater risks for obesity, and later development of diabetes and other consequences.

The 2017 School Weight and Height Survey, conducted by the Costa Rican Ministry of Health in conjunction with the Costa Rican Ministry of Education, found that 34 percent of school-age children are overweight in the country, an alarming increase over previous years and decades.

Health officials peg the change to “drastic changes in children’s nutrition,” and said efforts such as those at the Auto Mercado grocery store to promote vegetable and fruit consumption are helpful in changing behaviors.

“Children both at home and in schools eat foods high in fat, sodium, sugars and refined carbohydrates and, on the contrary, leave aside the intake of water, vegetables, fruits and foods rich in essential nutrients. This predisposes children to be obese and to develop chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, which are the leading causes of sickness and death in the country,” said María Lucía Fernández, nutritionist at Auto Mercado.

Costa Rica is not alone with this problem, which worldwide is on the upswing. In 2016, an estimated 41 million children under 5 throughout the world were overweight.

To put the situation in perspective, in 1975 an estimated 4.3 percent of boys and 6.3 percent of girls were overweight. Forty years later, the figure had escalated to 30.3 percent in boys and 33.1 percent in girls, according to the World Health Organization and the Imperial College of London.

Ditching traditional foods in exchange for quicker, less nutritious meals has been accompanied by a change in lifestyle, with kids indoors more. The use of electronic gadgets only exacerbates the sedentary habits.

“In addition to proper nutrition, children should be active outdoors, in an environment of joy and positivity,” added Fernández.

The Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS) is likewise bolstering its health prevention activities with an eye to reducing obesity. Later this month, a heart-health campaign will take place in Nicoya, Guanacaste in northern Costa Rica to strengthen preventive programs in the rural northern Nicoya peninsula towns.

At least 15 health centers in the region will have their preventive heart monitoring services improved, with increased screenings, and educational activities to promote active lifestyles, healthy diets, and no smoking, said the CCSS press office.