• Susan A Carlson, Janet E Fulton, Michael Pratt, Zhou Yang, and E Kathleen Adams.
• National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA; Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA. Electronic address: scarlson1@cdc.gov.
• Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2015 Jan 1; 57 (4): 315-23.

AbstractThis study estimates the percentage of health care expenditures in the non-institutionalized United States (U.S.) adult population associated with levels of physical activity inadequate to meet current guidelines. Leisure-time physical activity data from the National Health Interview Survey (2004-2010) were merged with health care expenditure data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2006-2011). Health care expenditures for inactive (i.e., no physical activity) and insufficiently active adults (i.e., some physical activity but not enough to meet guidelines) were compared with active adults (i.e., ≥150minutes/week moderate-intensity equivalent activity) using an econometric model. Overall, 11.1% (95% CI: 7.3, 14.9) of aggregate health care expenditures were associated with inadequate physical activity (i.e., inactive and insufficiently active levels). When adults with any reported difficulty walking due to a health problem were excluded, 8.7% (95% CI: 5.2, 12.3) of aggregate health care expenditures were associated with inadequate physical activity. Increasing adults' physical activity to meet guidelines may reduce U.S. health care expenditures.Published by Elsevier Inc.

33 keywords...

hide…