Effectiveness of Aerobic Exercise on Improving Cardiorespiratory Endurance in Adolescent Girls: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstrak

Cardiorespiratory endurance is an essential component of physical fitness that plays an important role in supporting daily physical activities and maintaining overall health. Adolescent females, particularly university students, often experience decreased physical activity levels due to prolonged academic activities performed in sitting positions, leading to sedentary lifestyles and reduced cardiorespiratory capacity. Aerobic exercise is considered an effective physical activity intervention to improve cardiovascular and respiratory function as well as oxygen utilization efficiency in the body. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of aerobic exercise in improving cardiorespiratory endurance among adolescent females. This study employed a quasi-experimental design using a one-group pre-test and post-test approach without a control group. The participants consisted of 10 female physiotherapy students who met the inclusion criteria. The aerobic exercise intervention, in the form of aerobic gymnastics, was conducted for four weeks with a frequency of three sessions per week. Cardiorespiratory endurance was measured using the Harvard Step Test to obtain participants’ fitness index scores. Data analysis included the Shapiro–Wilk normality test and paired sample t-test. The findings demonstrated an improvement in cardiorespiratory endurance after the aerobic exercise intervention. The Shapiro–Wilk test showed p > 0.05, indicating normally distributed data. Furthermore, the paired sample t-test produced a significance value of p = 0.000 (p < 0.05), indicating a significant effect of aerobic exercise on improving cardiorespiratory endurance. The mean fitness index score increased significantly after the intervention compared to baseline measurements. Aerobic exercise is effective in improving cardiorespiratory endurance among adolescent females with sedentary lifestyles. Therefore, aerobic exercise can be recommended as a promotive and preventive strategy to enhance physical fitness and cardiovascular health.