Effect of participating in physical fitness assessment on healthcare costs in Korean adults

This study assessed the effects of participation in physical fitness assessment on healthcare costs by analyzing healthcare costs in those who did and did not participate in the physical fitness assessment for the National Fitness Award project conducted by the Korean government. The National Health Insurance Service database was used to compare healthcare costs in the years before and after participation in the National Fitness Award project for 318 individuals who participated (participation group) and 627 individuals who did not participate (non-participation group). Healthcare costs in the years before and after participation was different between the two groups. This difference was corrected for further analysis. Results revealed that the visit days (inpatient) was -0.23±8.16 and 1.53±8.16 days in the participation and non-participation groups, respectively, and was longer in the non-participation group. The change in the total healthcare costs was 28.56±272.88 ten-thousand KRW in the participation group and 53.36±275.33 ten-thousand KRW in the non-participation group, showing an annual difference of approximately 240,000 KRW in healthcare costs between the two groups. These findings suggest that participating in physical fitness assessments can have positive effects on participation in physical activities, thereby reducing healthcare costs.