The Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Pulmonary Function and Aerobic Capacity in Sedentary Men

Aim: The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of an 8-week aerobic exercise program on the respiratory function and aerobic capacity of sedentary men. Methods: A total of 24 male sedentary individuals between 18-23 years who were living in the Gaziantep, participated in the present study voluntarily. Participants were randomly divided into two groups as experimental group (n=12, age: 21.86±2.78 years) and control group (n=12, age: 22.51±2.32 years). The experimental group participated in the aerobic exercise program for three days per week for eight weeks. No exercise program was administered to the control group. Before and after the exercise program, body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (BFP), resting heart rate (RHR), maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume (FEV1), forced expiratory rate (FEV1/FVC %) and maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) measurements were performed. Respiratory parameters were measured with the M.E.C. The Pocket Spiro USB-100 device. The VO2max was measured with the MEC PFT ergo-spirometer system. Body weight and height were measured using the N.A.N. device. Paired Sample t test was used for intra-group comparison and Independent Sample t test was used for inter-group comparison for statistical analysis of the data. The level of significance was determined as p<0.05. Results: There were statistically significant improvements (p<0.05) in the BW, BMI, BFP, RHR, VO2max, VC, FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC % and MVV values of the experimental group. The weight and BMI values of the control group were found significant (p<0.05). There was no significance in the other data. There were statistically significant differences between the groups in favor of the experimental group, in the assessments of BMI, BFP, RHR, VO2max, VC, FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC % and MVV values (p<0.05). Conclusion: As a result, it is considered that the aerobic exercise program which was applied to the sedentary individuals has a positive effect on the respiratory functions and aerobic capacity values. It can be said that regular and planned aerobic exercises will affect respiratory functions and aerobic capacity positively.