Characterization of the Effects of a Six-Month Dancing as Approach for Successful Aging.

Characterization of the Effects of a Six-Month Dancing as Approach for Successful Aging. Int J Endocrinol. 2019;2019:2048391 Authors: Vaccaro MG, Izzo G, Ilacqua A, Migliaccio S, Baldari C, Guidetti L, Lenzi A, Quattrone A, Aversa A, Emerenziani GP Abstract Aging is accompanied by a decline in multiple domains. Positive effects of dance practice on several health issues have been evaluated in young adults, while the effects of regular social dance practice on physical fitness, sexual health, and cognitive functions have not been studied yet in older experienced dancers. Thus, the aim of this study has been to investigate whether a 6-month social dance practice might influence fitness performance, sexual health, and specific cognitive functions and/or mood characteristics in older experienced dancers. Thirty experienced dancers (age: 71.2±5.1 years, 18 females/12 males) were enrolled from the dance school "NonSoloLiscio" of Catanzaro. Body composition, physical fitness, sexual health, and cognitive functions were assessed before (T0) and after (T6) intervention. After 6 months of dance practice, percent of fat mass (%FM) significantly decreased (p<0.01), while fat-free mass (FFM) significantly increased (p<0.01) in both genders. Moreover, significant main effects of time on physical fitness tests, such as chair stand test (CST) (p<0.01), gait speed (p<0.05), and timed up and go (p<0.05), were found. Sexual health was s...
Source: International Journal of Endocrinology - Category: Endocrinology Tags: Int J Endocrinol Source Type: research