A new study released in Canada this month has found that physical inactivity is costing the country billions. The Velo-city global conference in Vancouver will be pushing cycling as the perfect solution. 

Here’s a little figure to throw at you: 6.8 billion.

That’s how much Prof Ian Janssen, Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity and Obesity, says sitting around costs. His study published earlier this month found that the estimated total health care costs of physical inactivity in Canada in 2009 weighed in at $6.8 billion.

Quite clearly, physical inactivity is a major contributor to chronic disease and health care spending in Canada. 15% to 39% of the chronic diseases examined were attributable to physical inactivity.

2001 data suggested that the annual economic burden of physical inactivity was $5.3 billion. The 2009 estimates indicate that the total annual economic burden of physical inactivity in Canadian adults was $6.8 billion.

Dr Randy Rzewnicki from the ECF commented: “This study reports that only 15% of Canadian adults are getting the daily 30 minutes of physical activity that our bodies need – and that ‘physical inactivity has surpassed epidemic proportions’. That’s academic-speak for 'We got a really really BIG problem here folks!'"

“No matter which way you look at it, or quantify it, for decades now we have seen that millions of people could be moving more. The solution is daily physical activity, and the best way to achieve it is walking & cycling.”

Cycling is indeed a saviour for strained public health care systems. Velo-city will bring 1000 cycle traffic experts from around the world to Vancouver later this month, where this will be a very hot topic.

Canada, I sincerely hope Velo-city gets you moving.  

About the Author

Julian Ferguson is the Communications Officer for the European Cyclists’ Federation. Originally hailing from Australia and a keen bicycle advocate, he plans one day to ride his bicycle from Brussels to Melbourne

Why the interest in North America? 

ECF is not just interested in cycling in Europe. We think it’s important to take a global perspective. So much so that our next big conference, Velo-city Global 2012, is taking place in Vancouver in June (26-29). It’s the biggest cycling planning conference in the world, bringing together the best and the brightest in cycling and transport policy. Check out the conference website here, and register now. It’s going to be a great event.

Further Reading

The original article: Health care costs of physical inactivity in Canadian adults  by Ian Janssen; Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 10.1139/h2012-061   

It also appears at http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full/10.1139/h2012-061#