The working capacity of rural, urban and service personnel in the Sudan

An analysis of work capacity has been made in men from different communities in the Sudan (rural agricultural workers, sedentary townsmen and physically-trained service personnel) in order to establish the level of working capacity (V0 2 max) in the normal healthy Sudanese population. There were no differences in the general health and nutritional status of the subjects. The servicemen had attained a greater physical development and exhibited the highest maximal aerobic capacity. There were no statistically significant differences in stature, absolute V0 2 max and KO 2 max calculated in terms of body weight, lean body mass or leg volume between rural and urban dwellers. When corrected for body weight or lean body mass the aerobic capacity of the servicemen was similar to agricultural workers but significantly greater than the townsmen.