Comprehensive physical wellness indicator that incorporates both health-related fitness (HRF) and skill-related fitness (SRF), enabling a more nuanced assessment of employee health status

<p dir="ltr">This research addresses the growing challenge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in South Africa, focusing specifically on their impact in workplace settings. NCDs represent a significant public health concern in South Africa, contributing substantially to national morbidity and mortality while imposing avoidable human and socioeconomic costs. These chronic conditions affect multiple dimensions of employee wellness—physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and occupational—directly impacting workplace productivity through increased absenteeism and presenteeism. The study recognizes workplace environments as ideal settings for health interventions, with potential benefits including increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, and lower healthcare costs. Despite this potential, there is a notable scarcity of empirical data on the effectiveness of workplace intervention programs in South Africa, highlighting a critical research gap that this study addresses through the development of a comprehensive physical wellness indicator.</p><p dir="ltr">This research employed a cross-sectional comparative study design, analyzing data from three distinct working populations:</p><ol><li>Educational institution (P1)</li><li>Corporate institution (P2)</li><li>Law enforcement institution (P3)</li></ol><p dir="ltr">The assessment process was structured in three distinct phases:</p><ol><li>Initial Phase: Participants received a briefing on the Health-Risk Assessment (HRA) screening process and completed biographical information sheets documenting demographic, medical, and lifestyle-related information (both qualitative and quantitative data).</li><li>Assessment Phase: Participants underwent quantitative health-related and skill-related assessments:</li><li><ul><li>Health assessments: Heart health, anthropometric variables, and fitness-related indicators</li><li>Skill assessments: Visual acuity and coordination measures</li></ul></li><li>Analysis Phase: Data were standardized, scored, and categorized to enable comparison across populations.</li></ol><p dir="ltr">The study sample included employees from three distinct working populations, with an age range spanning from 22 to 65 years and participants of all genders at various career stages. The sample populations were selected based on the following rationale:</p><ul><li>The groups shared some overlap in physically stressful working environments</li><li>The volume of physical activity, level of demand, and workplace stress differed between groups</li><li>This selection allowed for comparison to determine whether more physically active groups experience greater physical wellness.</li></ul><p dir="ltr">The selection strategy enabled examination of whether significant differences in physical wellness existed between populations with varying physical activity requirements in their occupational settings.</p><h3><br></h3><h4><br></h4><h3><br></h3><h3><br></h3><h3><br></h3><h2><br></h2><p></p>