There is no question about the direct value of physical activity in preventing disease and the associated costs. Simply decreasing the prevalence of excess weight by a modest 3% could save North Carolinians $152.5 million annually in healthcare costs.

• For adults, the total cost of medical conditions/diagnoses related to eight health risk factors was $57.36 billion in medical care, prescription drug care and lost productivity in 2006.
• At the current rate of increase, the costs associated with the risk factors for adults will rise to $75.64 billion in 2011, a cumulative five-year increase of 31.8 percent.
• Sixty-one cents of every dollar spent on primary medical care for the 11 common medical conditions in adults can be attributed to the eight risk factors.
• If the prevalence of the eight risk factors is reduced by a modest three percent among adults, North Carolina would save $2.25 billion per year. Losing weight would have the most impact—a $610 million cost savings between 2007-2011—due to its pervasiveness and its strong correlation with lost productivity costs.
• Maintaining the three youth risk factors at their current prevalence level would reduce potential costs by $15 million a year.
• Although physical inactivity is the most expensive risk factor for kids, excess weight is the fastest growing. Moreover, excess weight results largely from physical inactivity and is a physiological precursor to Type II diabetes.

Employers: An overweight or obese adult will incur approximately $250,000 in lost productivity costs during the span of their career. Did you know that by promoting healthier lifestyles and getting your employees moving, you could save up to 115 hours of lost productivity per employee each year? Do the math – that’s big money.

Parents: It’s hard to admit, but there’s a one in four chance that your child is overweight. It’s estimated that 15-45% of all new diabetes cases in North Carolina children are Type II, a disease previously found only in adults. In addition, 54.1% of North Carolina children are physically inactive, which means that they are 600 times more likely to develop heart disease as adults!

Educators: Incorporating at least 30 minutes of physical activity into the school day to get up, stretch and get their hearts pumping will actually improve children’s levels of focus and ability to retain information. 

Insurers: Insurers are all too familiar with the economic impact of unhealthy lifestyles. In North Carolina, three out of every four prescriptions written are for the treatment of illnesses and disorders linked to inactivity and unhealthy habits.

Government: If just three percent of overweight or obese North Carolinians achieved a normal weight through healthy eating and regular movement, the result would be a savings of over three billion dollars. That’s more than enough to fund the public university system for an entire year. It’s also enough to fund 68,000 new jobs