Improvements in body composition, functional capacity, and cardiovascular fitness: results of a workplace wellness program in the United Arab Emirates

Introduction Chronic diseases are the largest contributor to overall morbidity and mortality. The workplace lifestyle interventions have shown improvements in anthropometric, and cardiometabolic parameters. However, data related to workplace wellness programs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a workplace wellness intervention on anthropometric measures, functional capacity and cardiovascular fitness. Methods We conducted a 12-week workplace wellness intervention among employees of a leading UAE healthcare organization. The program included physical activity challenges targeting step count and calorie expenditure, with assessments conducted at baseline, day 45, and day 90. We used adjusted linear mixed-effects models to analyse the data. Results A total of 116 participants were included in the analysis [mean age 39.2 (SD 8.4) years, female sex 49.1%]. Compared with baseline values, we observed a significant improvement in weight, body mass index, and waist circumference both at day 45 [−0.52 (95% CI, −0.96 to −0.08) kg, −0.18 (−0.32 to −0.03) kg/m 2 , −2.53 (−3.93 to −1.14) cm, respectively], and at day 90 [−1.16 (−1.81 to −0.51) kg, −0.40 (−0.62 to −0.18) kg/m 2 , −3.73 (−5.84 to −1.59) cm, respectively]. The total functional movement score increased by 2.76 (2.23–3.30) and 4.99 (4.50–5.49) at day 45 and day 90, respectively. The systolic blood pressure was decreased by −2.58 (−5.09 to −0.07) mmHg and −4.76 (−7.09 to −2.43) mmHg, and Rockport 1-mile walking time was decreased by −2.06 (−2.57 to −1.55) minutes and −2.46 (−3.11 to −1.82) minutes at day 45 and day 90, respectively, compared with the baseline values. The predicted cardiorespiratory fitness (VO 2 ) increased by 9.00 (7.28–10.73) mL·kg −1 ·min −1 at day 45, and by 7.24 (5.34–9.13) mL·kg −1 ·min −1 at day 90. Compared with week-1 levels, the activity wearable parameters of steps and calories per day showed reductions mid-intervention [−1,392 steps/day, (−2,233 to −550); −248 calories/day, (−404 to −92)], and by day 90 [−1,008 steps/day (−2,164 to 148); −157 calories/day (−310 to −5). The wearable-derived resting heart rate showed a modest decline with mean reductions of −1.41 bpm (−2.52 to −0.30) at mid-intervention, and −0.57 bpm (−1.79 to 0.66) by day 90. Discussion Our findings show significant improvements in anthropometry, functional movement scores, and selected parameters of cardiovascular fitness associated with workplace wellness program. These results contribute important preliminary data for the UAE healthcare workforce, and suggest that incorporating workplace interventions into organizational health policies could play a crucial role in improving employee health.