Description:
This summary report follows on from the publication of the Northern Ireland physical activity strategy in 1996 and the subsequent publication of the strategy action plan in 1998. Within this strategy action plan a recommendation was made for the health sector, that research should be carried out to evaluate and compare the cost of investing in physical activity programmes against the cost of treating preventable illness.

To help in the development of this key area, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety's Economics Branch agreed to develop a model that would seek to establish the extent of avoidable deaths from physical inactivity and, as a consequence, the avoidable economic and healthcare costs for Northern Ireland.

A final draft was presented to the Research Advisory Group (a sub group of the Northern Ireland Physical Activity Strategy Implementation Group (NIPAIG)). Following a review by research experts, the final report was endorsed by NIPAIG in June 2000 and a recommendation made to produce this summary report.

Additional information:
This report was prepared by Caspar Swales, Economics Branch, Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for the Northern Ireland Physical Activity Strategy Implementation Group (NIPAIG).