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TORONTO — The more Canadians settle into a life of physicalinactivity, the more they exact a toll on the country's health caresystem, a new study from Queen's University suggested. The report, published Wednesday in the journal Applied Physiology,Nutrition and Metabolism, estimated the total cost of a life oflassitude had reached approximately $6.8 billion in 2009, or 3.7per cent of all health care costs. Study author Ian Janssen mined a variety of data sources to arriveat the figures, which account for both the direct and indirect costof physical inactivity. Janssen said his estimates of physical activity levels throughoutthe country were based on Statistics Canada's Health MeasureSurvey, which tracked the movements of some 5,000 participantsusing an accelerometer. This data was combined with scientific literature on the risksphysically inactive people run of contracting seven common chronicdiseases, as well as figures from Health Canada estimating the costof treating those conditions. Running those results through a series of mathematical models,Janssen said the direct cost of treating conditions associated witha sedentary lifestyle amounted to more than $2.4 billion. Theindirect costs -- which he described as the loss of personal andfinancial productivity due to poor health -- added up to slightlyabove $4.3 billion, he said. "It's important for people to understand that this is a very costlybehaviour," Janssen said in a telephone interview from Kingston,Ont. "We often think of medical care as the diseases themselves. Wedon't realize that those diseases are caused, in large measure, byour lifestyle behaviours and choices." The report suggests the costs associated with sedentary lifestyleshave been steadily increasing since 2001, a year in which Janssenpegged the overall cost at $5.3 billion or 2.6 per cent of totalcosts. The most recent numbers can be explained in part by populationgrowth and the country's aging demographics, Janssen said. A stronger factor, however, is the increasingly reliable dataillustrating exactly how little exercise Canadians are getting. StatsCan's Health Measures Survey previously relied onself-reported data to gauge Canadians' exercise routines. Since themost recent survey relied on numbers gathered through electronicmonitoring devices, however, Janssen said the country's dismalactivity levels were clearly spelled out for the first time. Between 2007 and 2009, only 15 per cent of adults were getting therecommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise. The country's youthwere still more sedentary, with only nine per cent achieving theminimum amount of activity. The report cautions that by only focusing on seven chronic diseasesand workforce productivity, many cost drivers have not beenfactored into this most recent analysis. Still, the report said,the findings speak for themselves. "Physical inactivity has surpassed epidemic proportions in Canadaand accounts for a significant portion of health care spending,"the report said. Canada is not alone in shouldering a hefty price tag for asedentary population. Janssen found seven per cent of Australia'seconomic health burden comes from inactivity, while direct costsaccount for between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent of health care spending inSwitzerland, the U.K. and the United States. Janssen said the widespread nature of the problem speaks to thecomplexities health care providers face when trying to address it. "It's a very difficult thing to fix," Janssen said. "We're talkingabout something a lot of people don't necessarily like to do, theydon't necessarily know how to do it .... It's simple in theory, butin reality it's very difficult to get people to engage in physicalactivity to improve their health." Angela Torry, education Co-ordinator with the Alberta Centre forActive Living, agreed, adding most Canadians fail to appreciate thelink between their inactive lifestyles and the chronic diseasesthey develop over time. Janssen's research, she said, may shed light on that relationshipfor those who respond to economic facts. For the rest of the country, however, Torry speculated the datawould serve as only a minor incentive to get moving. The more immediate physical, psychological and social benefits ofan active life will do more to motivate Canadians to change theirways, she said. "Yes the economic impact is important, but it's not necessarily thedriving force behind what we do," she said. "We believe physicalactivity is important even beyond the numbers.". The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as DVR Surveillance System , China CCTV Camera Housings, and more. For more , please visit IR IP Cameras today!
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