32 per cent of Saskatchewanians are not physically active, SPRA survey shows

According to a recent survey published by the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association, 32 per cent of Saskatchewanians are not physically active.

The survey goes on to report under half consider themselves “somewhat active,” with only 17 per cent of people in claiming to be “very active.”

Christian Bates-Hardy is with the SPRA. He says certain groups are affected more than others.

“Less than half of all LGBTQ people that we surveyed are physically active at 48 per cent,” explained Bates-Hardy. “We did also note that Indigenous people in the province are also less active at 55 per cent than the overall average of 63 per cent.”

Bates-Hardy says over time, he hopes to see those numbers change.

He adds that men in the province are slightly more active than women with 22 per of men calling themselves active versus only 13 per cent of women.

However, Bates-Hardy says there’s a positive that came out of the survey.

“95 per cent of those people surveyed agreed that recreation benefits mental health, and that’s something that we very strongly believe,” he said. “There’s a strong connection between how active your body is and how that affects your positivity and how you view your quality of life.”

800 random people above 18 years old were selected to take part in the survey that asked questions related to recreation, healthy eating and mental health.