According to a major Moving Communities study, participation in public leisure centre activities saved the NHS £397.8 million in 2023.

The findings – analysed from 8.8 million leisure centre users across 818 sites – show that more than 28,000 costly health conditions were prevented, with older adults reaping the greatest benefits and providing the greatest return on investment for the NHS.

Conditions such as dementia and hip fractures, which are among the most expensive and debilitating to treat, are significantly reduced through targeted exercise programmes, highlighting a significant opportunity for leisure centres to deliver more programmes to older adults who are often underrepresented in leisure centre participation.

Emma Bernstein, strategic projects lead at Sport England, says: "Leisure centres are at the heart of healthier communities. This study shows their essential role in keeping people active, happy, and independent. For older adults especially, leisure centres can transform lives, helping them stay healthier for longer and reducing the burden on the NHS.

"By offering age-friendly programmes such as gentle yoga, aqua fitness and low-impact aerobics, leisure centres can attract an underserved demographic while delivering enormous health outcomes. Overcoming barriers such as fear of injury, lack of confidence and perceptions that fitness is for younger people is crucial."

GP referrals, targeted marketing campaigns and community outreach are all means to attract this key audience and amplify the health benefits of regular activity.

The avoided health conditions and savings were calculated using the MOVEs tool, developed by the University of East Anglia Health Economics Consulting Group for Sport England. This tool uses a range of health and real world physical activity data to compare the likelihood of conditions occurring in participants at their previous and current physical activity levels, focusing on conditions where evidence shows exercise significantly reduces risk.

The research estimated the following had been prevented:

12,946 hip fractures.4,724 cases of depression.

4,368 cases of dementia.2,685 cases of coronary heart disease

1,127 cases of Type 2 diabetes.959 cases of stroke

229 cases of breast cancer225 cases of colorectal cancer