Thousands of people living with and beyond cancer are among those who will be helped to get more active after Sport England announced £5.8m through its Get Healthy Get Into Sport fund.

Macmillan Cancer Support, which will receive £500,000, is one of 14 groups benefiting from funding, which comes as new research shows that the cost of inactivity to the NHS in England is £944m.

The Macmillan project will open up fresh sporting opportunities for cancer patients in 10 parts of England, including work in Oxford to help 14 to 25-year-olds with cancer to get active. Macmillan is investing a further £230,000 in the scheme.

Almost 130,000 inactive people are expected to get involved in sport through the scheme, which will explore a wide range of ways to use sport to improve health.

The funded projects include £500,000 for Durham County Council, which will target people who are at risk of cardio-vascular disease and diabetes and get them involved in a range of sports.

The British Heart Foundation National Centre will also get almost £500,000 to work with councils and health partners to tackle inactivity in Newham, East London. The programme is aimed at educating doctors about the health benefits of sport and then helping them to track the progress of inactive people who take up sporting opportunities.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "The overwhelming benefits of exercising more are clear, but with a third of children overweight by the age of 11 boosting sports provision in schools will help us tackle this country's obesity problem.

"The new figures for the costs of inactivity are startling and we cannot afford to let our children grow up without access to sport and exercise. We recently announced a £60m contribution to the sports premium to allow more primary school children to get up and active."

Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality after high blood pressure, tobacco use and high blood glucose.