Effects of 12 Weeks of Sports Dance on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Abdominally Obese Middle-aged Women

Lee, Young Woong; Lee, Jong Hoon

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of a 12-week aerobic exercise program on obesity and its related metabolic syndrome markers in middle-aged women. A total of 40 middle-aged women (pre-menopause, N = 20; post-menopause, N = 20) voluntarily participated in the present study. All the participants had two visits to our laboratory. On the first visit of the subjects to our laboratory, body composition, cardio-respiratory fitness, and blood pressure, measured by using standardized methods, were assessed. On the second visit, 20 mL of fasting venous blood was collected into the EDTA-treated test tubes for the assessment of blood glucose and lipoprotein-lipids. All the subjects underwent a 12-week program of sports dance. In the group analyses, we found that the 12-week program of sports dance induced significant improvements in body composition and blood pressures among both pre- and post-menopausal women. In summary, the current findings of the study show that, regardless of women's menopausal status, participating in a regular aerobic exercise program can induce several health benefits including weight loss and blood pressure reduction among middle aged women.