EFFECTS OF A 10-WEEK AEROBIC EXERCISE ON WEIGHT LOSS, PERFECTIONISM AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING IN OBESE INDIVIDUALS

Aim. The aim of this study was to facilitate weight loss among high school students with obesity through aerobic exercise and to examine this process in relation to various variables. Furthermore, the study sought to determine whether there was a significant difference between the levels of physical perfectionism and psychological well-being of obese students who participated in an aerobic exercise program (experimental group) and those who did not (control group). Methods. A total of 20 high school students voluntarily participated in the study, including 6 males and 4 females in the experimental group and 6 males and 4 females in the control group. The research employed a pre-test–post-test experimental design with a control group, which is one of the quantitative research methods. Through this experimental method, the effects of the independent variable (aerobic exercise) on the dependent variables (physical perfectionism, psychological well-being, body mass index, time spent in physical activity, and time spent playing digital games) were analyzed using pre-test and post-test measures via the SPSS 26.0 software. Results. The normality analysis indicated that the distribution was normal. To identify differences between the experimental and control groups, Independent Samples t-tests were conducted; Cohen’s d was calculated to determine effect size, and Pearson correlation analysis was employed to examine relationships between the variables. The pre-test and post-test comparisons revealed that while the experimental and control groups exhibited similar characteristics in the pre-test, significant differences in favor of the experimental group emerged in the post-test following the implementation of the exercise program. Conclusions. After the 10-week intervention, students who participated in aerobic exercise activities showed negative outcomes in concern over imperfection, but positive outcomes in hope for perfection and psychological well-being when compared to the control group. Keywords: Obesity, aerobic exercise, lose weight, psychological well-being.