Avaliação econômica da prática de exercício físico: uma revisão narrativa

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: For the combat, the military need to be constantly prepared physically and psychologically. The lack, or insufficient practice of physical activity, is shown to be one of the major causes preventing the performance of tasks by military personnel or by their operational removal. However, one wonders about how economically valid is the expenditure of specific time in the routine for the practice of military physical training. Thus, the economic evaluation of an intervention is important, because the administrators responsible for deciding public policies need the best information about the efficiency of the methods to be employed, their implementation costs and the economic benefits of implementing them. This aimed to evaluate the economic impact of physical training between military and civilians. METHOD: A literature research was performed in May 2021 at the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Web of Science, PEDro Database, and SCOPUS. The descriptors were obtained from queries in the databases “Descritores em Ciência da Saúde” (DeCS) e Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). The following descriptors were used: “exercise”, “cost-benefit analysis” and “military”. RESULTS: A total of 992 articles were initially located. Subsequently, 335 duplicate titles were removed. Thus, 657 articles were submitted to the eligibility criteria and the process was completed, five studies were included in the review. In military studies, a program focused on physical activity for the military was cost-effective; another study showed a 28% drop in days lost due to absence, compared to the control group, which increased by 55% over seven years of study and savings around US$ 33,000 (2015) in reduction of claims, compared to the cost of US$ 32,192.00 (2015). In studies with civilians, it was noticed that the group that practiced it more than three times a week had, statistically, fewer injuries and the total amount spent on its treatment was lower, per participant, regardless of age. And at the groups that participated less often had no statistical differences from the control group, which did not practice any exercise. Furthermore, was noticed a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and resting heart rate. From the economic side, when surveying all the costs and returns obtained with productivity and reduced absenteeism, there was a study that did not obtain, on average, a statistical cost-benefit, however, due to the large dispersion of data, this statement cannot be verified, it is necessary to deepen this research point. CONCLUSION: The practice of physical activity is shown, in the military environment, to be cost-effective by reducing the costs of recruitment and training for replacement, in addition to reducing claims for compensation for injuries. When considering the civil environment, this economy is not directly explicit, however, when analyzing the quality of life, motivation, reduced expenses with medical treatment and improved health, once again, physical exercise is cost-effective.