Ahead of Qatar’s next national holiday – National Sport Day on Feb. 10, 2015 – the government is surveying residents about what types of activities they’d like to see hosted on the day.

The survey, a collaboration between the Ministry Development Planning & Statistics and the Qatar Olympic Committee, takes about five minutes to fill out, and asks respondents about their daily exercise habits.

For those who aren’t physically active, the survey asks why (health problems, lack of free time/interest, no nearby facilities, etc).

Another topic involves which sports residents enjoy watching or games they’d like to attend.

The survey also includes questions about monthly spending on staying in shape, and about participation in previous and future National Sport Days.

Lack of time

Qatar began marking NSD three years ago as a way of combating the nation’s rising obesity and diabetes rates.

According to last year’s survey results, which were tallied ahead of NSD 2014, some 60 percent of respondents said that a lack of time was the main factor preventing them from exercising more often.

This was up from 48 percent of respondents to the same survey the year before.

Additionally, fewer people (30 percent of respondents) said they were exercising regularly (more than three times a week), down from 37 percent the previous year.

And finally, many residents said that more needs to be done to educate people about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, with a majority (85 percent) of respondents calling for more awareness campaigns.

For those who want to have input about the upcoming NSD’s events, do take a few minutes to fill out this year’s survey here.

Thoughts?