Engaging with the arts improve your health, UK report finds

CAIRO – 3 August 2017: A new report released by The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing (APPGAHW) from the UK has uncovered some interesting connections between participation in arts, be it through music-making, drawing, observing art or acting, to increased recovery from illness, a higher sense of wellbeing and a longer lifespan.

Presenting two years of research findings, the report backs up its claims with convincing evidence across hundreds of interviews and numerous case studies. In terms of statistics, the report's findings show that after participating with the arts, 79 percent of people in poorer London communities had better eating habits, 77 percent exercised more and 82 percent reported greater life satisfaction overall. A cost-benefit analysis by the study also shows that by engaging more patients with the arts, hospital admission rates would drop by 27 percent, and that General Practitioner consultation rates would drop by 37 percent.

Former UK Art Minister Alan Howarth, who co-chaired the study, stated that “The arts can help people take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing in ways that will be crucial to the health of the nation," quoted by The Guardian.

If governments were to provide better funding for public arts related institutions, such as theatres and museums, and endorsed art therapy for patients more, public health could improve immensely.