Effects of a 10-Week Zumba Program on Adiposity and Flexibility in 8-Year-Old Children

March 30, 2026 updated by: Aysen CALIKUSU, Ege University

GENDER-SPESIFIC EFFECTS OF A 10-WEEK ZUMBA DANCE-BASED EXERCISE PROGRAM ON PEDIATRIC ADIPOSITY AND FLEXIBILITY IN HEALTHY 8-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN: A PROSPECTIVE INTERVENTION STUDY

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a 10-week Zumba dance-based exercise program on body fat (adiposity) and flexibility in healthy 8-year-old children. The study also aims to explore if these effects differ between boys and girls. Participants will take part in a 10-week Zumba exercise program. Researchers will measure the children's body composition (body fat percentage) and physical fitness (flexibility and abdominal endurance) before the program begins (baseline) and immediately after the 10-week intervention is completed.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Childhood obesity and physical inactivity are growing global health concerns. Engaging children in enjoyable physical activities is crucial for their physical development and overall health. Zumba, a dance-based exercise, offers a fun and rhythmic alternative to traditional exercises, which may increase participation and adherence among children.

This prospective intervention study aims to evaluate the gender-specific effects of a 10-week Zumba dance-based exercise program on pediatric adiposity and flexibility. Healthy 8-year-old children will participate in a structured Zumba program (consisting of 40-minute sessions, 3 days a week) for 10 weeks. Anthropometric measurements (to assess adiposity via body fat percentage) and physical fitness tests (including the sit-and-reach test for flexibility and sit-up test for abdominal endurance) are conducted at baseline and after the 10-week intervention. The findings will help determine the effectiveness of Zumba as a school-based or extracurricular physical activity intervention for improving body composition and physical fitness in prepubertal children.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
115

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Healthy children aged exactly 8 years.

Voluntary participation with signed written informed consent from parents or legal guardians.

Ability to understand and follow basic exercise instructions.

Exclusion Criteria:

Any physical, orthopedic, or neurological disability that would prevent participation in a dance-based exercise program.

Diagnosis of any chronic metabolic, cardiovascular, or respiratory disease.

Regular participation in other structured sports or dance programs outside of the school curriculum during the study period.

Missing more than 20% of the total Zumba sessions.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Zumba Exercise Group
Healthy 8-year-old children participating in a 10-week Zumba dance-based exercise program.
Behavioral: Zumba Dance-Based Exercise Program
A 10-week structured Zumba program consisting of 40-minute sessions, conducted 3 days a week.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Adiposity (Body Fat Percentage)
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and immediately after the 10-week intervention (Week 10)
Adiposity will be evaluated by measuring the children's body fat percentage using standard anthropometric methods.
Baseline (Week 0) and immediately after the 10-week intervention (Week 10)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Flexibility
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and immediately after the 10-week intervention (Week 10)
Flexibility will be measured using the standard sit-and-reach test.
Baseline (Week 0) and immediately after the 10-week intervention (Week 10)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Ege University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: AYŞEN ÇALIKUŞU, PHD, Ege University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 2, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 10, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 10, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 30, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 30, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 69928

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data that underlie the results reported in this article will be shared.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will be available immediately following the publication of the article and will be accessible for a period of 5 years.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data will be shared with researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal. Proposals should be directed to the corresponding author via email. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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Conditions

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