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The Economic Costs of Not Doing Exercise
Physical inactivity is costing the country a fortune, according to a new joint local government study using an approach called full cost accounting (FCA).
FCA is a type of accounting that looks at more than just economic measures. It also considers environmental and resource use effects, social/psychological effects (e.g. low self-esteem, reduction in civic participation), and cultural effects.
The study shows that physical inactivity in the Auckland, Waikato, and Wellington regions costs $648 million a year. Since about half the country’s population live in the three surveyed regions, this equates to an estimated cost of about $1.3 billion in 2010 for the whole country, or 0.7% of total GDP.
Other findings from the study include:
- the costs of treating cardiovascular diseases attributed to physical inactivity are the highest and, of cardiovascular diseases, strokes are the costliest; and
- coronary heart disease had the highest indirect costs for all regions, followed by colorectal cancer in Wellington and Auckland. In Waikato, stroke was second highest.