Inactivity Costs Billions to the UK

The Centre for Economics and Business Research has conducted research assessing the physical and mental health costs of inactivity for Europe. The total cost to Europe’s economy from inactivity is estimated to be €80.4 billion per year.
Based on data from six European countries – France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK the total cost of inactivity has been derived from the costs of the four major non-communicable diseases (coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and breast cancer) attributed to inactivity and indirect costs relating to mood and anxiety disorders.
In Europe 500,000 deaths per year can be attributed to inactivity. If effective interventions could get one fifth of the inactive Europeans to be sufficiently active the financial benefits could amount to €16.1 billion.
In the UK:

• 16.9% of deaths were attributed to inactivity.
• The total annual economic costs of inactivity is €14.2 billion. This figure is made up from the direct and indirect costs of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and inactivity related depressive and anxiety disorders.
• The cost of inactivity is equivalent to 8.3% of UK health spending or over three times as much as the estimated direct public healthcare expenditure on smoking related diseases in the UK.

In order to address the growing issue of inactivity across Europe recommendations are included. They are sharing successful interventions to promote physical activity, creating partnerships beyond the physical activity sector and recognise the broader impacts of physical activity including social impact, skill development and its positive effect on productivity and performance.
Click here to find out more and download the report.

Posted on 1st July 2015