The annual social value of community sport and physical activity is £107.2 billion, Sport England research calculates.

The value is made up of £96.7 billion in annual wellbeing value for adults, children and young people taking part and volunteering in sport and physical activity – and a further £10.5 billion in wider savings to the health and social care system a year.

This relieves pressure on the NHS through the prevention of illness, reduced mental health service usage, fewer GP visits and a reduced need for informal (unpaid) care.

Through in-depth analysis of Active Lives data, plus reviewing wider evidence for the health benefits of being active (including the costs associated with the treatment and care of illness and poor health), the research reveals the profound social and economic benefits of sport and physical activity for communities across England.

Sport England undertook the research in partnership with social value advisors State of Life, Sheffield Hallam University and Manchester Metropolitan University, and you can download a report summarising the findings on their dedicated social value webpage.

Key highlights from the report:

• Active lives relieve some of the NHS burden, preventing 1.3 million cases of depression, 600,000 of diabetes and 57,000 of dementia (the UK's leading cause of death) – saving billions a year.
• Active lives save £540 million on reduced GP visits and £780 million on reduced mental health service use.
• Being physically active generates a wellbeing value of £2,500 per adult – while being 'fairly active' also brings significant benefits of £1,200 per adult.
• Active children and young people (aged 11 to 16) generate a wellbeing value of £4,100 annually; for fairly active children, it's £3,100.

Today's publication presents the findings from year one of a three-year study. The annual figures are based on participation, volunteering and population data for the year 2022/23, with all figures in 2023 prices.

The next two years will provide further analysis that builds on our understanding of how the social value of sport and physical activity is generated and distributed between different people, places, activities and stakeholders.