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Salsa Dancing Your Way To A Healthy Life.

HHP faculty Dr. Rebecca Lee recently published the results of The Texas Obesity Research Center's "SAving Lives, Staying Active (SALSA)" project in the Journal of Obesity, Volume 2011 (2011).

SAving Lives, Staying Active (SALSA) was an 8-week randomized controlled crossover design, pilot study to promote regular physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption as a means to preventing weight gain among women of color. Data suggest that Latin dance interventions to improve physical activity and web-based interventions to improve dietary habits show promise for improving health among women of color.

 

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Below is an excerpt from the paper:

Latin dance interventions show promise for increasing physical activity duration and intensity and are seen as intrinsically enjoyable, potentially more easily adopted and maintained than traditional exercise programs [10]. The Latino culture and population continue to grow in the USA, and Latin dancing is a widely accepted and popular in many population subgroups, even beyond the Latino community. Prior research has shown that Latin dancing meets moderate to vigorous intensity requirements, sufficient to meet weight loss and maintenance recommendations [11]. Prior studies have also demonstrated that interventions which involve community and culturally relevant interventions are more successful and sustainable than those which do not incorporate these factors [12].

Read the entire article on the Journal of Obesity website