Young adults’ rating of perceived exertion and mood in exergaming dance and aerobic dance

This study investigated mean differences in young adults’ rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and mood in different exercise modalities (exergaming aerobic dance vs. traditional aerobic dance). Forty young adults (20 females; M_age = 20.38) completed two separate 12-minute dance sessions: 1) non-stop exergaming aerobic dance (Xbox 360 Kinect Just Dance - Just Sweat around the World); and 2) traditional aerobic dance led by an experienced instructor. Participants’ RPE was assessed via the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale (14-point Likert scale) every 4 min, and mood was measured by the Brunel Mood Scale (5-point Likert scale) following each session. MANOVA was used to detect mean differences in these outcomes between the two dance sessions. Results revealed significant differences between dance sessions for the overall model (p < 0.01). In detail, participants had significantly lower RPE toward exergaming dance compared to aerobic dance. In terms of mood, exergaming dance showed significantly lower confusion compared to aerobic dance (p < 0.05). Similarly, participants reported significantly lower fatigue in exergaming dance versus aerobic dance (p < 0.01). Findings suggest that exergaming dance may lead to less perceived RPE and fatigue among young adults compared to traditional aerobic dance.