Medihelpers walk from Pretoria to Cape Town and back. Seven times – in just six months

80 million steps, 21 344 kilometres and 44 days of meditation show what can happen when workplace wellness gets people moving.

If Medihelp’s employees had set off from the Scheme’s Pretoria offices in February and started walking to Cape Town, they could have walked there and back seven times by July.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to take six months off work to do it.

Instead, Medihelpers collectively clocked up more than 80,1 million steps, covering an impressive 21 344 kilometres and in just six months through their use of Fitt, Medihelp’s digital wellness companion.

And while they were getting their steps in, they were also slowing things down, spending 64 271 minutes meditating – the equivalent of 44 full days devoted to mental well-being.

For Medihelp, the numbers demonstrate something important about workplace wellness: give people the right support, tools, motivation, and a little friendly competition, and healthy intentions can become healthier behaviours.

From knowing to doing

Most people know they should move more, sleep better, manage stress, and make healthier choices.

Knowing and doing, however, are two different things.

That is one of the reasons Medihelp introduced Fitt to its employees. The digital wellness companion encourages healthier habits across several aspects of well-being, including nutrition, sleep, physical activity, financial fitness, and mental well‑being.

Gamification and rewards turn those behaviours into challenges and goals, while an AI‑enabled facial scan can provide users with a snapshot of their health in just 40 seconds.

Dr Shay Ganesh, Head of Innovation at Medihelp, says it’s not about expecting people to transform their lifestyles overnight.

“Healthier living really is the sum of the small decisions we make repeatedly. Taking a walk. Choosing to move instead of sitting. Spending a few minutes managing stress. Paying attention to your sleep. Understanding your health indicators.

“Fitt gives people a way to track those habits, see their progress and, importantly, stay motivated to keep making healthier choices.”

80 million steps later, small choices start looking rather big

Between February and July 2026, those everyday choices added up.

Collectively, Medihelpers recorded:

• 80,1 million steps (equal to 21 344 kilometres walked)
• 64 271 minutes of meditation (equal to 44 full days)

The distance between Pretoria and Cape Town is approximately 1 467 kilometres. Collectively, Medihelpers therefore walked the equivalent of more than seven return trips between Pretoria and Cape Town.

The step count is more than an impressive workplace statistic.

Regular physical activity is associated with better cardiovascular health and a reduced risk of premature death, with research showing health benefits beginning at relatively modest levels of daily activity.

Similarly, meditation and other mindfulness practices can support mental well‑being and help people manage stress and anxiety.

This matters because many of the health challenges facing South Africans – including hypertension, high blood glucose, cardiovascular disease, and some mental health challenges – are influenced by a complex combination of lifestyle, environmental, genetic, and other factors.

While a wellness app cannot prevent or treat these conditions on its own, helping people become more active, manage stress, sleep better, and pay greater attention to their health can form an important part of reducing health risks and managing existing conditions.

Wellness isn’t a once-a-year event

Perhaps one of the most significant numbers in Medihelp's Fitt experience isn't measured in steps or kilometres at all.

It's 63%.

That is Fitt's current engagement rate among Medihelpers.

Maintaining participation is one of the biggest challenges facing workplace wellness programmes. Initial enthusiasm can quickly disappear once the novelty wears off.

Medihelp has therefore deliberately worked to keep wellness visible and engaging.

The Monday Morning Club, a weekly, interactive news bulletin for Medihelpers, introduces recurring weekly challenges. Digital Therapeutic Pathways provide structured routes into sustained activity. Challenges between business units add camaraderie and a little healthy competition, while email, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp keep employees informed and motivated.

Gamification and rewards add another important ingredient: fun.

“People aren't necessarily going to change their behaviour because an employer tells them to be healthier,” says Ganesh.

“You must make healthier choices achievable, engaging, and rewarding. And you must keep giving people reasons to come back.”

Practising what we preach

For Medihelp, the experience is about more than employee wellness.

As a medical scheme, Medihelp provides members with healthcare cover to help fund healthcare when they need it. But it also believes that supporting healthier behaviours can help people live healthier for longer.

The same philosophy underpins Medihelp's approach to workplace wellness for its employer groups.

Rather than viewing wellness days as isolated events, Medihelp's corporate wellness approach combines wellness experiences with health insights and targeted interventions designed to support employees beyond their wellness screening.

And before encouraging other organisations to think differently about workplace wellness, Medihelp believes it should be prepared to do the same with its own people.

“We're proud to have united our employees around something that has an impact at both an individual and organisational level, while making it fun and sustainable,” says Ganesh.

Eighty million steps later, Medihelpers haven't reached the end of the journey.

But seven return trips between Pretoria and Cape Town suggest they're certainly moving in the right direction.

*From 2027, selected preventive health features from the Fitt app will be integrated into the new Medihelp app, giving members a convenient way to manage their medical aid and take a more active role in their health.