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The cost of inactivity on the NHS

Title
The cost of inactivity on the NHS

Research Area
Economy; Tackling Inactivity   

Author
Public Health Wales

Summary of Findings
The National Survey for Wales found 30% of adults in Wales are inactive, spending less than half an hour a week doing moderate intensity exercise. Meanwhile NHS Wales spent £35m in 2015 relating preventable diseases caused by lack of physical activity. This is broken down as £12m in relation to coronary heart disease, £10m on cerebrovascular disease and £12.8m on diabetes. They estimate that three in five cases of type 2 diabetes could be delayed or prevented by maintaining a healthy weight, diet and physically active lifestyle.

Implications
Making an economic case as to the importance of physcial activity is just as important as making the health or social case. Active Black Country are utilising comparable data in relation to England to develop a model that gives an indication of how increases in activtiy to benefit the local economy.