Novel dance intervention improves cardiorespiratory fitness in young Indian girls: Study
India: Researchers from India have developed a novel dance/fitness intervention termed THANDAV (Taking High-Intensity Interval Training [HIIT] ANd Dance to Adolescents for Victory over non-communicable diseases [NCDs]). In the study, published in the journal Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, Ranjit Mohan Anjana, ICMR Centre for Advanced Research on Diabetes, Chennai, India, and the team evaluated the THANDAV protocol among Asian Indian girls aged 10 to 17 years.
They found that THANDAV is a novel, culturally appropriate type of physical activity that takes little time, is enjoyable, and can be done at home. It may be a sustainable strategy to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and prevent NCDs in Asian Indian young girls.
THANDAV comprised of a 10-min routine with high- and low-intensity dance steps that were taught to 23 adolescent girls. The researchers then recorded their energy expenditure, heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and body mass index (BMI). Following the completion of quantitative measurements, focused group discussions (FGDs) were conducted.
The average age of the girls was 13.9 ± 2.1 years, and the mean BMI and BP were 19.8 ± 3.3 kg/m2 and 107/68 (±8/7) mm/Hg, respectively.
Based on the study, the researchers found the following:
- All participants achieved 80% of their maximum HR during the first dance and managed to sustain this HR throughout the 10-min routine.
- There was a significant increase in the HR (bpm) [88.7 ± 8.4 to 195.6 ± 11.8] and VO2 (L/min) [0.025 ± 0.0 to 0.395 ± 0.1] postintervention.
- The average energy cost of the activity (metabolic equivalent) was 6.3. The FGDs revealed that THANDAV was a socially acceptable, fun, and energetic form of PA.
The researchers concluded, "The physical activity intervention tested in this study was novel, culturally appropriate, rigorous, and maybe a sustainable strategy to improve cardiorespiratory fitness among young females."
Reference:
Ranjit Mohan Anjana, Sharma Nitika, Srishti Sinha, Rebecca Kuriyan, Rajendra Pradeepa, Colin Palmer, Anura V. Kurpad, Viswanathan Mohan, Jim Sallis, and Harish Ranjani.Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics.Sep 2021.623-631.http://doi.org/10.1089/dia.2021.0028
