Impact of Interactive Dance on Children's Physical Activity and Body Composition

Background/Purpose:  Interactive dance has been recognized as a fun solution to promoting a physically active lifestyle and a good aerobic exercise to help children maintain normal weight. However, few population-based studies have investigated the effects of interactive dance on these outcomes. This study examined the impact of an interactive dance-based program on urban children's physical activity (PA) levels and body composition.

Methods:  Participants were 185 children (105 Boys; M_age=10.34) from an urban elementary school. Participants' baseline daily PA levels were measured by SPARK activity checklist in August 2009 (pretest), and percent body fat (measured by skinfolds) was used as index of body composition. The fourth graders were then assigned to the intervention group engaging in 30 min. aerobic activities (e.g., interactive dance, and aerobic dance) twice per week, while the third and fifth graders were placed in the comparison group. The identical measurements were taken again nine months later (post-test).

Analysis/Results: ANOVA with repeated measures for PA indicates a significant main effect for intervention, F (1, 183) = 11.86, p < .01, η² = .06. Specifically, intervention children had significantly greater increased PA levels than comparison children across time. Logistic regression for body composition group change suggests intervention children did not differ significantly in percent of body fat change from comparison children, Chi square =5.42, p =.14.

Conclusions : The implementation of the interactive dance-based program could have a significantly positive effect on children's PA levels. Meanwhile, the long-term effect of the program on children's body composition deserves further investigation.