Comparing physical wellness in sedentary and active work environments

Abstract

The concept of wellness has transformed over the decades with the ever-adapting lifestyle of society and thus can be broadly defined as the responsibility of the individual through practicing health-promoting lifestyle behaviour. There are various factors that contribute to an individual's sense of overall physical wellbeing which can be categorised into skill-related and health-related components which have been extensively investigated. However, there is a considerable lack of evidence regarding the integration of these components. This study thus sought to determine a means of integrating the various components of physical wellness to provide an indication of wellness state. This was approached from two avenues: the first (Study 1) explored a component of wellness to ascertain whether it can be used as a measure in determining overall physical wellness and the second (Study 2) assessed the influence of physical activity on various wellness parameters and utilised these wellness parameters in the derivation of an overall physical wellness indicator to determine an individual's state of overall wellbeing. Study 1 involved comparing Sports vision between sedentary and active work environments in a sample of 158 university students and 230 training recruits. The participants were subjected to various visual skill assessments to determine if an active environment transfers to visual proficiency. The results indicate that while the recruits were more proficient in some skills, students displayed a greater aptitude in other areas. The findings obtained in this study are in concert with previous research, indicating that individuals exposed to physical activity, even for a short period of time, tend to acquire superior visual skills. However, the skills are honed according to the field of expertise due to the transfer effect that occurs in the brain. Comparing physical wellness in sedentary and active work environments July 2013 ix The concept of Sports vision that was explored in this study provided insight into its role in wellness and it was suggested that these assessments can be utilised in assessing overall physical wellness. Study 2 delved into the area of overall physical wellness and explored the components and influence of an active work environment on these components. 165 undergraduate university students and 234 training recruits and law enforcement employees underwent several wellness assessments in a bid to compare overall physical wellness in sedentary and active work environments. The individual results were compared, and scored into risk areas that were ultimately compounded to formulate an overall physical wellness indicator. It was found that the students were superior in some areas of wellness; however the recruits possessed a greater state of overall physical wellness. This indicates that physical activity does contribute significantly to attaining a state of overall physical wellness and thus reduces the risk of developing lifestyle-related chronic conditions. The overall findings suggest that maintaining a healthy lifestyle through physical activity and health-promoting behaviour will result in a greater state of wellness. This area of research has unfolded a host of possibilities for future research, especially into the overall wellness indicator and the integration of the health and skill-related components of overall physical wellness.