WA Dept. of Health 2004 - "The Economic Cost of Physical Inactivity Among Washington State Adults"

Chenoweth & Associates, Inc.
"The Economic Cost of Physical Inactivity Among Washington State Adults"
Washington State Department of Health
February 2004
On the Web (pdf)
Relevance: high

Chenoweth and Associates estimate the direct costs of physical inactivity in Washington to be $4.8 billion in 2002:

• $197.8 million for direct medical care
• $9.2 million for worker's compensation
• $4600 million for lost productivity

They also calculate the indirect costs at $593 million for medical care and $36.8 million for worker's compensation, bringing the total cost (direct + indirect) to $5.46 billion. Per Washington resident, this total cost of physical inactivity was $899 in 2002; per Washington adult, the cost was $1,232.

The projected cost of physical inactivity in 2007 is nearly $9 billion.

In calculating lost productivity, the authors estimate that physical inactivity annually causes 20.2 workdays of lost productivity, where 1 workday lasts 8 hours:

• 2 workdays of absence,
• 1.8 workdays of short-term disability, and
• 16.4 workdays of presenteeism (when an employee is present but not fully functioning).