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
. 2024 Mar 1;5(3):e240088.
doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0088.

Health and Economic Value of Eliminating Socioeconomic Disparities in US Youth Physical Activity

Tiffany M Powell-Wiley  1   2 , Marie F Martinez  3   4   5 , Jessie Heneghan  3   4   5 , Colleen Weatherwax  3   4   5 , Foster Osei Baah  1   6 , Kavya Velmurugan  3   4   5 , Kevin L Chin  3   4   5 , Colby Ayers  1   2 , Manuel A Cintron  1   2 , Lola R Ortiz-Whittingham  1   2 , Dana Sandler  1   2 , Sonal Sharda  1   2 , Meredith Whitley  7   8 , Sarah M Bartsch  3   4   5 , Kelly J O'Shea  3   4   5 , Alexandra Tsintsifas  3   4   5 , Alexis Dibbs  3   4   5 , Sheryl A Scannell  3   4   5 , Bruce Y Lee  3   4   5
Affiliations

Health and Economic Value of Eliminating Socioeconomic Disparities in US Youth Physical Activity

Tiffany M Powell-Wiley et al. JAMA Health Forum. .

Abstract

Importance: There are considerable socioeconomic status (SES) disparities in youth physical activity (PA) levels. For example, studies show that lower-SES youth are less active, have lower participation in organized sports and physical education classes, and have more limited access to PA equipment.

Objective: To determine the potential public health and economic effects of eliminating disparities in PA levels among US youth SES groups.

Design and setting: An agent-based model representing all 6- to 17-year-old children in the US was used to simulate the epidemiological, clinical, and economic effects of disparities in PA levels among different SES groups and the effect of reducing these disparities.

Main outcomes and measures: Anthropometric measures (eg, body mass index) and the presence and severity of risk factors associated with weight (stroke, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or cancer), as well as direct and indirect cost savings.

Results: This model, representing all 50 million US children and adolescents 6 to 17 years old, found that if the US eliminates the disparity in youth PA levels across SES groups, absolute overweight and obesity prevalence would decrease by 0.826% (95% CI, 0.821%-0.832%), resulting in approximately 383 000 (95% CI, 368 000-399 000) fewer cases of overweight and obesity and 101 000 (95% CI, 98 000-105 000) fewer cases of weight-related diseases (stroke and coronary heart disease events, type 2 diabetes, or cancer). This would result in more than $15.60 (95% CI, $15.01-$16.10) billion in cost savings over the youth cohort's lifetime. There are meaningful benefits even when reducing the disparity by just 25%, which would result in $1.85 (95% CI, $1.70-$2.00) billion in direct medical costs averted and $2.48 (95% CI, $2.04-$2.92) billion in productivity losses averted. For every 1% in disparity reduction, total productivity losses would decrease by about $83.8 million, and total direct medical costs would decrease by about $68.7 million.

Conclusions and relevance: This study quantified the potential savings from eliminating or reducing PA disparities, which can help policymakers, health care systems, schools, funders, sports organizations, and other businesses better prioritize investments toward addressing these disparities.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Powell-Wiley reported grants from the National Institutes of Health during the conduct of the study and support from the American Heart Association as Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Heart Association. Dr Ayers reported personal fees from the National Institutes of Health outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Youth Physical Activity Disparity Model
BMI indicates body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); CHS, chronic health state; MVPA, moderate to vigorous physical activity; QALYs, quality-adjusted life-years; SES, socioeconomic status.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Economic and Clinical Outcomes of Reducing Physical Activity (PA) Disparities Among US Youth by Socioeconomic Status Group
All reductions in PA disparity are compared with the highest PA level for each age and sex group. FPL indicates federal poverty level; QALYs, quality-adjusted life-years.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Youth sports facts: challenges. Aspen Institute . Accessed February 13, 2024. https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/youth-sports/facts/challenges
    1. Johnston LD, Delva J, O’Malley PM. Sports participation and physical education in American secondary schools: current levels and racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities. Am J Prev Med. 2007;33(4)(suppl):S195-S208. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2007.07.015 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bowser J, Martinez-Donate AP, Carrel A, Allen DB, Moberg DP. Disparities in fitness and physical activity among children. WMJ. 2016;115(5):245-250. - PubMed
    1. Tandon PS, Zhou C, Sallis JF, Cain KL, Frank LD, Saelens BE. Home environment relationships with children’s physical activity, sedentary time, and screen time by socioeconomic status. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2012;9(1):88. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-9-88 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jackson SL, Yang EC, Zhang Z. Income disparities and cardiovascular risk factors among adolescents. Pediatrics. 2018;142(5):e20181089. doi:10.1542/peds.2018-1089 - DOI - PMC - PubMed