The effect of the aerobic exercise program on aerobic capacity, physical activity level and quality of life in obese individuals

Objective: Our study was carried out to examine the effect of a 12-week online aerobic exercise program on aerobic capacity, physical activity level and health-related quality of life in obese individuals. Method: This non-randomized controlled trial was conducted on 20 obese subjects aged 18-65 years. The first meeting was planned to be face-to-face. At the first interview, the demographic information of all volunteers in the control and intervention groups was obtained, and the clinical evaluation stage was started. Obese individuals in the exercise group were given submaximal aerobic exercise training for 30-50 minutes a day, 3 days a week, through telerehabilitation, under the management of a physiotherapist. The first and final evaluations of the exercise group were performed on the obese individuals in the non-exercise group. The data were evaluated statistically. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the control group's body weight and BMI values before and after the intervention in favor of the control group (p<0.05). A statistically significant difference was found between the study and control groups in terms of abdominal region skinfold thickness in favor of the control group (p<0.05). The difference between the two groups in favor of the study group in flexibility assessment and 6MWD was statistically significant (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between pre-intervention and post-intervention scores in terms of pain, emotional reactions, physical activity and part 1 total scores of the study group's quality of life sub-parameters (p<0.05).In terms of physical activity, it was revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the pre-intervention and post-intervention values of the study group, and the difference between the mean scores of the control group in terms of total scores. Conclusion: 6MWD, which is an indicator of aerobic capacity, increased without a decrease in body weight with an aerobic exercise program applied to obese individuals for 12 weeks, 3 days a week, 30-50 minutes through telerehabilitation. Keywords: Obesity, Aerobic capacity, Physical activity, Quality of life, Aerobic exercise, Telerehabilitation