The effects of aerobic dance on cardiovascular fitness and body composition in sedentary women

Abstract

This study was conducted in order to investigate the effects of aerobic dance on the cardiovascular fitness and body composition of sedentary women throughout 6 weeks of a training program. 31 subjects were selected in this study and divided into two groups; the experimental group consisted of 15 female subjects and the control group consisted of 16 subjects. The experimental program of the aerobic dance lasted for a period of six weeks and it include sixty-minute training sessions two times a week. The aerobic dance of each workout lasted for 40 minutes, and it involved high, low and moderate impact segments. The cardiovascular fitness was evaluated according to the following parameters: maximal oxygen uptake (ml/kg/min). Body composition was evaluated by means of the following measurements: body height (cm), body weight (cm), body mass index, waist to hip ratio and the percentage of body fat. The demographic factors of the experimental group are (mean (SD), age (30.33±7.34,) weight (58.29±7.34) height (1.55±0.06) and the mean (SD) for the controlled groups are as follow: age (27.56±3.97) weight (57.48±11.51) and height (1.56±0.05). The finding of this study showed that six weeks of aerobic dance had significant effects on the cardiovascular fitness and body composition of the subject in the experimental group. This reaffirms that those who participated in the aerobic dance training program (the experimental group) had improved their VO2max level, reduced their BMI and reduced WHR reading and reduced their percentage of body fat compared to the subject in the control group who did not participate in the aerobic dance training program. Hence, this study confirms that there are significant effects of aerobic dance on the cardiovascular fitness and body composition of sedentary women at the Clinical Training Centre, Sungai Buloh, Selangor.