R7.4bn payout if 20% of SA adults are more active

A global study by Vitality and UK-based research institute Rand Europe released this week shows that South Africa could see an increase of $500 million in (R7.4 billion) gross domestic product (GDP) if it gets 20% of adults more active over the next 30 years.

Discovery Vitality CEO Dinesh Govender says the economic improvement derives from lower mortality rates (because more people are alive and contributing to the economy), reduced absenteeism and lower presenteeism driven by the impact of physical activity on mental health.

Rand Europe president Hans Pung says the study points to a significant relationship between inactivity and productivity loss, driven largely by ill-health related presenteeism. Presenteeism refers to people showing up for work, but finding health issues have a marked impact on their productivity.

For adults, the World Health Organisation recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity, or 70 minutes of vigorous physical activity, per week. This includes activities that fit into a person’s normal routine, including walking, housework and gardening. A person is deemed to have physical fitness if they can achieve muscle-powered work such as lifting heavy weights or running a marathon. Fitbit wearers start off with a goal of 10 000 steps a day as this works out to about 8km a day, about 30 minutes of daily exercise, and satisfies the recommendation for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.

Locally, 28.5% of the male population and 47.3% of the female population are considered insufficiently active, which means they are clocking up less than 150 minutes of moderate activity (30 minutes per weekday) or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week.

The study states that global GDP would gain more than $100 billion each year until 2050 if people walked 15 minutes more per day, did a slow jog of one kilometre per day, or took 1 500 extra steps a day.

Govender says insurers connected by Vitality – now collectively accountable for more than 35% of the world’s individual protection market – are committed to addressing significant global challenges such as inactivity.

“This is evidenced by Vitality’s global commitment last year to make 100 million people 20% more active by 2025,” he says. “In SA alone in 2015, we pioneered a step-change in how people tracked their physical activity and health with our Vitality Active Rewards with Apple Watch benefit.”

Workplace absenteeism is rife in SA, with Occupational Care SA finding in 2015 that 15% of staff call in sick daily, but only one in three is actually ill.

The cost to the economy was estimated then at R16 billion a year.