Dr. Merling Phaswana

Merling Phaswana is a South African health researcher whose work centres on physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and cardiometabolic risk in working and vulnerable populations. Affiliated with the University of the Witwatersrand, research contributions reflect a strong commitment to addressing the burden of non-communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa through workplace and community-based interventions.

Publications highlight expertise in sit-to-stand workstation trials, sedentary behaviour measurement, and qualitative inquiry into implementation barriers. Studies involving office workers, medical students, firefighters, and university staff examine cardiorespiratory fitness, obesity, and cardiovascular risk, combining accelerometry, clinical markers, and behavioural data to inform feasible health promotion strategies.

Work also extends to rural women’s health, exploring links between sleep, sugar-sweetened beverage intake, and obesity, as well as contributions to discourse on culturally relevant vaccine acceptance. Across studies, a consistent focus emerges on context-sensitive, evidence-based interventions aimed at improving lifestyle behaviours and reducing cardiometabolic risk in African settings.