Building a society to do sport

Published in El Pais, 2 March 2022.

In the times of COVID-19, many people have had difficulty keeping their weight under control. There are many reasons for this difficulty.

1. Eating activity: At home it is difficult to respect meal times.
2. No activity: We realize that getting out of the house and going to school or work helps us to move and stay a little active. Sedentary lifestyle is dangerous.
3. Work and social activity: To go out, we put on special clothes and this helps us control our weight and take immediate action if necessary.
4. Sport activity: Before COVID-19, many of us could practice a sport in a school, which maintains physical condition and a positive attitude.

Although sport at school is especially important to follow regular training and Olympic effort; there is the option of society reinventing itself to play sports without having to pay. These societies have outdoor spaces for sports and that be accessed free of charge. Bolivia is not far behind with soccer fields, basketball, and jogging parks. But more can be done. It is important to keep in mind that people love diverse types of sports and the more possibilities we open up in cities, the more inclusive we will be. For this, it is important to improve:

1. Citizen safety: If we want to ride a bicycle or walk through the streets, we must ensure that drivers have better driving instruction to avoid accidents. Or better, try to separate the specific streets for bicycles and cars. Similarly, the athlete must be sure that he will go for a walk without being assaulted. The police must keep the streets safe at any time of the day.
2. Take care of green areas: So that people can continue enjoying a good walk without having to lose these spaces due to lotters.
3. Open sports areas to citizens: many places are closed to preserve the infrastructure, which increases access barriers. We must think that the objective of the venue is to motivate spontaneous sport.

If we achieve this, we will surely be motivating more people to start a sport. Then this can continue at the competitive level. And we will also be motivating the population to use public transport less to walk or bike (less traffic congestion), play basketball instead of watching television, go for walks with friends instead of eating with friends, etc.

We must continue to build a society for sport that reduces the risks of health problems in the long term. As we know, “sport helps to have a healthy mind in a healthy body.”