The Effect of Outdoor and Indoor Exercises on Quality of Life

The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of promoting physical activity worldwide because of the causes of inactivity, premature death, disease, as well as the relationship of health problems with the economic burden on societies. Health-related quality of life is a concept that includes physical, psychological and social elements and is an important outcome measure in health services. Interaction with nature has been shown to reduce stress and mental fatigue, improve people's health and quality of life. These findings have led to suggestions that physical activity done outdoors may provide more benefits than doing the same physical activity in an indoor setting. Considering the effect of physical activity on public health and the fact that regular physical activities carried out consciously in the presence of an instructor in the open area can be more accessible to everyone from an economic point of view, it is thought that it may be important to distinguish it from the activities performed especially in closed areas. Male (n=40) and female (n=40) individuals who regularly exercise indoors, in designated fitness centers and outdoor areas, ie in parks, and who want to participate in the research voluntarily in the province of Istanbul were included in the study by random selection method. The data were collected online using the SF-12 Quality of Life Assessment Scale and were analyzed SPSS for Windows 22. The physical and mental component scores of qualities of life did not show a statistically significant difference compared to the status of exercising indoors and outdoors (p>0.05). The physical component score of people who exercised indoors showed a statistically significant difference according to training tightness and training time (p<0.05). According to the results, there was no statistical difference between the quality-of-life effects of exercising in indoor and outdoor areas. More research is needed on this topic.