The paradigm shift from the more specific focus of the MDGs on child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis recognises the immense significance of global health threats that have risen to prominence in the interim. Non-communicable diseases now account for 38 million deaths per year, of which 28 million are in low- to medium-income countries (WHO 2015a). Mental illness is expected to account for 15 per cent of the global burden of disease by 2020, with young people disproportionately affected (Biddle and Asare 2011). Consistent international data indicate that inactivity directly accounts for between 1 and 4 per cent of all healthcare costs (Davis et al.