How much physical activity is there in dance classes?

How much physical activity is undertaken in children's and teenagers' dance classes? Research has shown that there's not as much activity as you'd think.

Research published in the Journal of Paediatrics documented information collected from 264 young girls in private dance studios and four community centres in San Diego in 2015. Researchers attached accelerometers onto targeted dance students to measure their movement during a total of 66 classes (International New York Times, June 3, 2015).

The findings showed that moderate and vigorous movement in the dance classes accounted for only 36% of dance class time. However, the amount of active time varied according to the type of dance class for children. Hip-hop provided the most physical activity. Classical ballet and Latin flamenco provided the least amount of physical activity for the young girls. For teenagers there was no difference in activity across dance types.

Researchers advocate that dance instructors increase the amount of physical activity for many dance classes, especially for young children, but also indicated that the sampling size was limited. A wider study with more participants across different regions was also recommended.

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