The effects of an eight-week step-aerobic dance exercise programme on body composition parameters in middle-aged sedentary obese women

Background: Regular physical activity leads to significant changes in terms of the reduction of health-related risks. Research question:The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an eight-week step-aerobic dance exercise programme on weight loss and body composition parameters in middle-aged sedentary obese women. Type of study: This study comprised an eight-week randomised controlled trial. Methods: A total of 49 healthy sedentary obese women participated in this study voluntarily. They were randomly divided into two groups: those undertaking a step-aerobic dance exercise programme (n=29) and a control group (n=20). The subjects too part in a step-aerobic dance exercise programme for one hour per day, three days a week for eight weeks. The subjects' Body Mass Index (BMI), weight, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, four-site skinfold thickness, fat percentage, basal metabolic rate and lean body mass were assessed before and after the completion of the step-aerobic dance exercise programme. Results: After the eight weeks of the step-aerobic dance exercise programme, significant differences were found in the subjects' weight, BMI, body composition parameters, waist-hip ratio (WHR), waist circumference (WC), fat percentage, lean body mass (LBM) and basal metabolic rate (BMR) in the experimental group (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in the control group after the experiment in terms of the same measures (P>0.05). Conclusion: The step aerobic dance programme proved to be a useful exercise modality for weight loss and in terms of body composition. There was a clear response to the eight-week step aerobic dance programme in terms of central obesity in sedentary obese Turkish women.