The Effect of Exercises on Young Adults

Primary outcomes

1. Assessment of changes in the pain

   Time frame: 12 weeks

   A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to their level of pain subjects experienced throughout these activities. The VAS is comprised of a 10 cm horizontal line, wherein 0 indicates "no pain" and 10 indicates "unbearable pain" (Sang, Sang, Dong and Byung, 2016). Participants were asked to mark the strength of their ongoing musculoskeletal pain on the horizontal line.

2. Assessment of changes in the depression

   Time frame: 12 weeks

   The Back Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to determine patients' level of depression; each item on the scale is given a score of one to three, allowing for a maximum test score of 63 according to form. A subjects' total overall score is then used as an indicator of the presence and severity of depression: a total score lower than 10 indicates no depression, a score of 10-17 indicates mild depression, a score of 18-29 indicates moderate-to-severe depression, and a score of 30 or above indicates severe depression (Muyan, Sancak and Demir, 2017).

3. Health related quality of life

   Time frame: 12 weeks

   The Turkish version of the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) was used to assess participants' health-related quality of life. The NHP is a general quality of life questionnaire that measures individuals' perceived health problems and the extent to which these problems affect their normal daily activities. The questionnaire is comprised of 38 items and evaluates six dimensions of healthy individuals' health statuses, these include: energy (three items), pain (eight items), emotional reactions (nine items), sleep (five items), social isolation (five items) and physical activity (eight items). The test includes a list of yes/no questions. Each section yields a score between 0 and 100 for each subject, where 0 represents the best possible health status and 100 represent the worst possible health status (Liang, Wang and Tao, 2015).

4. Functional level

   Time frame: 12 weeks

   The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) questionnaires were distributed to participants and scored according to the study by Yakut et al. The research authors noted that some of the questions on the ODI are directly related to physical activities (lifting, walking, etc.). The level of disability was evaluated using the ODI, which is a condition specific questionnaire regarding how low back pain affects activities of daily living. The questionnaire rates 10 different activities based on a six-point scale, with 0 for ''no pain at all'' and 5 for ''cannot perform due to pain''. The higher the score, the greater the disability the subject was deemed to have (Rodríguez-Romero, Bello, Vivas Costa and Carballo-Costa, 2018).

5. Assessment of changes in the Waist and Hip circumference

   Time frame: 12weeks

   To find the waist/hip (WHr) ratio, participants' waist circumference was taken in centimeters (cm) using a tape measure to measure the point midway between the costal margin and iliac crest on the mid-axillary line, with the subject standing and breathing normally. Hip circumference (cm) was measured at the widest point around the greater trochanter. The waist-to-hip ratios of participants were calculated by dividing their waist measurement by their hip measurement (Tam and Çakır, 2012).