ExerciseNZ’s Richard Beddie critical of New Zealand Government’s focus on elite sport spending

ExerciseNZ Chief Executive Richard Beddie has slammed funding allocations to elite sport in the New Zealand Government’s Wellbeing Budget 2023, highlighting that there should be more emphasis on promoting exercise, mass participation and physical activity among the wider population.

Mindful of New Zealand’s declining levels of physical activity, Beddie explains “there is too much emphasis on elite sport spending to the detriment of physical activity participation.”

Citing multiple research studies, including a recent literature review published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health (JPAH), Beddie says that there is no evidence of ‘trickle down’ benefits from hosting large sporting events, such as the Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic Games influencing exercise participation.

He even noted that the authors of the JPAH review criticised the methodology of most of the studies saying they lacked true independence and academic rigour.

Beddie (pictured above) noted “the trickle down participation works about as well as trickle down economics that big businesses making lots of money which should trickle down to the lower income levels, but it doesn’t.

“I’m not against investment in large sporting events per se, as there can be other benefits such as economic ones, but the idea that this leads to increased participation and then using this as part of the argument for investment is now proven to be flawed.

“Participation in any physical activity is far more beneficial to New Zealand as a whole and needs far more government investment. It not only saves hundreds of millions in avoidable health costs, but enables traditionally disadvantaged groups to live longer healthier lives.

“Going to the gym if treated as a sport is actually bigger that rugby, cricket and netball combined in terms of participation but gets almost no investment simply because there are no gold medals to give out.”

Beddie adds “hosting events and winning gold medals and world cups are great for Kiwis’ pride, but make very little difference to our personal physical activity habits.”

However, he notes that the majority of the population worldwide does not reach the recommendation levels, especially when strengthening activities are considered, explaining that, in New Zealand just 50% of adults meet the World Health Organization guidelines for physical activity and for children it’s less than 10%.

Beddie went on to say “physical activity generates economic benefits such as an increase in productivity and a decrease in health care costs. It’s been estimated by Deloitte that the cost of physical inactivity, costs New Zealand $2.3 billion a year.”

The Effect of Elite Sport on Physical Activity Practice in the General Population: A Systematic Review was published earlier this year in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health 20(24):1-17 DOI:10.1123/jpah.2022-0123

Click here for more information.