Scarcity of resources for public health and mounting pressures on health systems such as the Covid-19 pandemic, make it vital to evaluate public health interventions and move away from traditional evaluation methods. This is important to understand not just the financial value of public health interventions, but also the wider social, environmental and economic value. This review aims to present the existing evidence base on the Social Return on Investment of physical activity and nutrition interventions, demonstrating the wider social and environmental benefits of these interventions.
It becomes increasingly important that the holistic impact of nutrition and physical activity interventions and programmes is understood to enable the development and implementation of interventions which have the greatest value to people. An evidence brief has been produced outlining the key findings of the scoping review and provides individual examples of the social value of interventions identified which aimed to increase levels of physical activity and improve nutrition.