No more talking. It’s time to act before it’s too late. The number of physically inactive people in Denmark has reached 52%. In 2017, it was 29%.
That is a serious development, and it is reflected in the rising costs of treating disease, stress and more.
“Investments in public health should be seen as investments, not expenses.”
That’s what Minister for Health Ida Auken said in an interview with A4 Sundhed. We couldn’t agree more.
And this doesn’t only apply to the healthcare system, where treatment costs have exploded. It also applies to businesses.
Disability benefit payouts alone increased by 5.3% to DKK 10.92 billion in 2025. According to Velliv, mental health conditions accounted for 50% of their payouts. The Danish Health Authority has calculated that physical inactivity directly costs businesses DKK 6.8 billion in lost productivity and 572,000 sick days.
We simply have to do something about this. Now. And together. We cannot afford not to.
And getting started is actually not that difficult.
According to the World Health Organization and the Danish Health Authority, we simply need to move and get our heart rate up a little. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk at a brisk pace every now and then. Do a few squats, or knæbøjninger, as we used to call them.
There is no shortage of evidence that physical activity benefits individuals, businesses and society as a whole.
Most recently, a large study from the National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NFA), involving 75,000 people, found that moderate-intensity physical activity was associated with a 26% lower risk of severe stress.
26%. That’s a lot.
So why not prevent stress rather than risk losing valuable colleagues and spending money on expensive stress courses and treatment?
A great place to start is by creating the right opportunities and framework for physical activity in your workplace.
Not just for those who are already active and take part in DHL Relay races, step challenges and cycling competitions, but also for those who never participate.
We need to get the physically inactive involved. Because they are often the ones who show up in the statistics on sickness absence and stress.
And they will probably thank you for it.
7 out of 10 people actually want to be more physically active.
The ROI of investing in more active employees can be highly positive, so investing in physical activity should be a no-brainer.
I often hear arguments like: “We can’t afford to have employees spend 10 minutes a day being physically active.”
But when the numbers tell us the opposite, perhaps the real question is:
Can we afford not to?
Happier employees. More energy and capacity. Less illness and stress. Higher productivity.
That’s something we can all use.
And in a highly pressured labour market crying out for more capacity, more physically active employees could be part of the solution.
