Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Apr;50(7):408-17.
doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-094655. Epub 2015 Oct 5.

Are brief interventions to increase physical activity cost-effective? A systematic review

Affiliations
Review

Are brief interventions to increase physical activity cost-effective? A systematic review

Vijay GC et al. Br J Sports Med. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether brief interventions promoting physical activity are cost-effective in primary care or community settings.

Design: Systematic review of economic evaluations.

Methods and data sources: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EconLit, SPORTDiscus, PEDro, the Cochrane library, National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database and the Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Registry up to 20 August 2014. Web of Knowledge was used for cross-reference search. We included studies investigating the cost-effectiveness of brief interventions, as defined by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, promoting physical activity in primary care or the community. Methodological quality was assessed using Drummond's checklist for economic evaluations. Data were extracted from individual studies fulfilling selection criteria using a standardised pro forma. Comparisons of cost-effectiveness and cost-utility ratios were made between studies.

Results: Of 1840 identified publications, 13 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria describing 14 brief interventions. Studies varied widely in the methods used, such as the perspective of economic analysis, intervention effects and outcome measures. The incremental cost of moving an inactive person to an active state, estimated for eight studies, ranged from £96 to £986. The cost-utility was estimated in nine studies compared with usual care and varied from £57 to £14 002 per quality-adjusted life year; dominant to £6500 per disability-adjusted life year; and £15 873 per life years gained.

Conclusions: Brief interventions promoting physical activity in primary care and the community are likely to be inexpensive compared with usual care. Given the commonly accepted thresholds, they appear to be cost-effective on the whole, although there is notable variation between studies.

Keywords: Economics; Physical activity; Review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram of study selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Incremental cost of converting one sedentary adult to an active category (2011 equivalent £ sterling; GP, general practitioner).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cost-effectiveness ratios (cost per DALY or QALY or LYG) for different physical activity interventions (2011 equivalent £ sterling; DALY, disability-adjusted life year; GP, general practitioner; LYG, life years gained; QALY, quality-adjusted life year).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Venn diagram showing overlap of studies with previous reviews.

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. World Health Organization. Global health risks: mortality and burden of disease attributable to selected major risks. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2009.
    1. Waxman A. WHO global strategy on diet, physical activity and health. Food Nutr Bull 2004;25:292–302. - PubMed
    1. Oldridge NB. Economic burden of physical inactivity: healthcare costs associated with cardiovascular disease. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 2008;15:130–9. 10.1097/HJR.0b013e3282f19d42 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Scarborough P, Bhatnagar P, Wickramasinghe KK, et al. . The economic burden of ill health due to diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and obesity in the UK: an update to 2006–07 NHS costs. J Public Health (Oxf) 2011;33:527–35. 10.1093/pubmed/fdr033 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Khan KM, Thompson AM, Blair SN, et al. . Sport and exercise as contributors to the health of nations. Lancet 2012;380:59–64. 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60865-4 - DOI - PubMed