DANCE FOR HEALTH

 

OVERVIEW

 

Dance for Health is a school-based physical activity program designed to prevent obesity in African American and Hispanic adolescents.  The program replaces typical physical education activities with dance instruction sessions.  In an evaluation of the program, seventh grade classrooms were randomly assigned to either receive the Dance for Health program during their regularly scheduled physical education classes or to a control group that received physical education as usual.  Results indicated that the program led to significant decreases in heart rate and BMI; among females; the program had no impacts on males.

 

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

 

Target population:  African American and Hispanic adolescents.

 

Dance for Health is a school-based physical activity program that replaces regular student physical education classes.  The program is designed to prevent obesity by teaching adolescents how to incorporate dance routines into their daily exercise regimens.  Over the course of 12 weeks, students attend three physical activity sessions, each lasting 50 minutes.  The students are able to choose music to which instructors teach them dance routines.  The program also includes a health education component, which is implemented twice a week in a classroom setting.  The health education classes present curriculum on nutrition, exercise, obesity and unhealthy weight regulation practices, smoking prevention, substance abuse, stress management, and peer pressure.

 

The cost of implementing the program runs around $1,500.  This includes the cost of questionnaires, handouts, music materials, rewards, and additional supplies.

 

EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM

 

Flores, R.  (1995).  Dance for Health:  Improving fitness in African American and Hispanic adolescents.  Public Health Reports, 110, 189-193.

 

Evaluated population:  81 adolescents attending seventh grade classes in Palo Alto, California served as the sample for this evaluation.  The mean age of the adolescents was 12.6 years, and 54% of the sample was female.  The racial/ethnic breakdown of the sample was 43% Hispanic, 44% African American, and 13% classified as "other."   

 

Approach:  Four seventh grade classes agreed to participate in this efficacy trial study.  Each classroom was randomly assigned to either receive the Dance for Health intervention or to continue receiving their regular physical education classes.  Over a 12 week period, students in classrooms receiving the Dance for Health intervention attended 3 program sessions a week during their regularly scheduled physical education classes.  They also received two health education classes per week that addressed nutrition and exercise, among other topics.  Students in the control classrooms received their regular physical education classes, which typically consisted of playground activities.  Researchers assessed students at baseline and following the intervention using measures of heart rate, exercise efficiency, weight, height, and attitudes towards physical activity. 

 

Results:  Results indicated that female adolescents in the intervention condition experienced significantly greater decreases in BMI and heart rate compared to females in the control condition.  There were not significant differences for females across groups on measures of exercise efficiency and attitudes towards physical activity.  The program had no significant impacts on male participants.

 

Note:  Although the researchers used a cluster sampling procedure for this study, there is no evidence that statistical corrections were made to account for the use of cluster-methods.  Results from this study should be interpreted with caution.

 

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

References:

 

Flores, R.  (1995). Dance for Health:  Improving fitness in African American and Hispanic adolescents.  Public Health Reports, 110, 189-193.

 

Program categorized in this guide according to the following:

 

Evaluated participant ages:  13-14

Evaluated participant grades:  7^th graders

Program age ranges in the guide:  Adolescence

Program components:  School-Based

Measured outcomes:  Physical Health

 

KEYWORDS: Adolescence (12-17), School-based, Adolescents (12-17), Middle School, Overweight, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, cost, co-ed.

 

Program information last updated on 3/17/09.

 

		© Child Trends 2003