Subsidizing Health Activites in Mid-Life Reduces Later-Life Health Costs

Promoting fitness in middle-age by subsidizing exercise and fitness activities could help to dramatically reduce the cost of medical care in later years, new research suggests. Dr Justin Bachman, M.D., cardiology fellow at the University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center, and colleagues studied data obtained from the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study, a database of health-related data concerning nearly 100,000 people collected over the last 40 years.  The aim of the study was to determine whether higher levels of physical fitness in middle-age were associated with lower healthcare costs later in life. Results showed that this was indeed the case, with the fittest study participants healthcare costs later in life being a highly significant 38% lower than those of participants who were the least-fit when middle-aged. Even after accounting for risk factors, such as smoking status, body-mass index, diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol levels, a better fitness level at middle-age was still associated with lower healthcare costs later in life.  Results also showed that the average annual claim for medical costs for the least-fit men was $5,134, approximately 36% higher than the average of $3,277 a year for the fittest men. Meanwhile, the average medical claim for the least-fit women was $4,565, approximately 40% higher than the $2,755 average for the fittest women.