EXERCISING and playing sport is better for the Australian economy than safely lying around on the couch - even when you take into account the cost of treating injuries incurred during physical activity.
That is according to a new report, Economics of sport and physical activity participation and injury, by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) which confirmed the reassuring statistics, saying "Australians saved the health system more than $320 million in a single year by participating in sport and other forms of physical activity".
The report showed that while there are costs to the health system from treating sport and other exercise-related injuries, "this is outweighed by savings from benefits such as lower blood pressure, stronger bones and improved mental health".
AIHW spokesperson Dr Heather Swanston estimated that physical inactivity accounted for around $2.4 billion in health spending in 2018-19, the year under study.
But "the cost to the health system would have been $1.7 billion higher without the health benefits from current levels of physical activity, including sport, undertaken in Australia".
Injury treatment cost about $1.2b, while $149m was spent on osteoarthritis due injuries related to physical activity.
More spending could have been avoided through improved injury prevention and management physical activity.
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