Health Benefits of Dance Exercise

Effects of a 6-month Dance Exercise Intervention on Physical Performance, Metabolic and Mental Health in Pre- and Post-menopausal Women

In Greece, people of different age groups, including young children to older adults, participate in dance exercise training. Although it is well-known that regular participation in dancing is associated with benefits such as entertainment, socialization and increased physical activity, the long-term effects of dancing on metabolic and mental health as well as physical performance remain largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of a 6-month dancing exercise intervention on metabolic and mental health and physical performance in premenopausal and postmenopausal women.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Mental Health; Physical Performance; Metabolic Health
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: No exercise training; Other: Exercise training

Detailed Description

Twenty premenopausal and twenty postmenopausal inactive women meeting the inclusion criteria will be randomly assigned to a Control (n=20) or an Experimental group (n=20). The Control group will maintain their habitual physical activity level without participating in any form of exercise training. The Experimental group will participate in two weekly dance exercise training sessions over a 6-month period. Each session will be performed under supervision and include a 10-min warm up (2-3 dances of very slow tempo), a 45-min main dance exercise session (~15 dances of various tempos i.e. slow, moderate and fast tempo) and a 5-min cool-down period (walking and stretching). Heart rate will be continuously monitored during each session by using heart rate monitors while the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) will be recorded at the end of each session. In addition, prior to the second dance exercise session in each week, participants' delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) and wellness status (through the wellness report) will be evaluated. Prior to (Baseline) and after the intervention period (at 6 months) participants of both groups (Control and Experimental) will undergo resting blood sampling and assessment of their (i) anthropometrics, (ii) body composition, (iii) physical performance, (iv) physical activity level, (v) dietary intake, (vi) quality of life and (vii) mental health.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Dimitrios Draganidis, PhD; Phone Number: +30 2431047047; Email: ddraganidis@uth.gr
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Ioannis G Fatouros, PhD; Phone Number: + 30 2431047047; Email: ifatouros@uth.gr

Study Locations

• Greece
  • Karies
    • Trikala, Karies, Greece, 42100
      • Recruiting
      • Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly
      • Contact: Ioannis G Fatouros, PhD; Phone Number: +30 24310 47047; Email: ifatouros@uth.gr
      • Contact: Athanasios Z Jamurtas, PhD; Phone Number: +30 2431047054; Email: ajamurt@uth.gr

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Free of musculoskeletal injuries
• Free of chronic non-communicable diseases
• Normal menstrual cycle (for premenopausal women)
• No recent childbirth (previous 12 months) (for premenopausal women)
• At least 12 months since the oncet of menopause (for postmenopausal women)
• Non smokers

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnancy (for premenopausal women)
• Contraindications to exercise training
• Illness or other medical condition
• Use of medication

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Control Group; Participants in this group will maintain their habitual physical activity level without participating in any form of exercise training	Other: No exercise training; It will include only habitual physical activity level without participating in any form of exercise training
Experimental: Experimental Group; Participants in this group will participate in two weekly dance exercise training sessions over a 6-month period	Other: Exercise training; This intervention will consist of two weekly dance exercise training sessions over a 6-month period. Each session will be performed under supervision and include a 10-min warm up (2-3 dances of very slow tempo), a 45-min main dance exercise session (~15 dances of various tempos i.e. slow, moderate and fast tempo) and a 5-min cool-down period (walking and stretching)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in glucose concentration	Fasting glucose concentration will be determined in blood	At baseline and 6 months
Change in insulin concentration	Fasting insulin concentration will be determined in blood	At baseline and 6 months
Change in total cholesterol concentration	Total cholesterol concentration will be determined in blood	At baseline and 6 months
Change in HDL cholesterol concentration	HDL cholesterol concentration will be determined in blood	At baseline and 6 months
Change in LDL cholesterol concentration	LDL cholesterol concentration will be determined in blood	At baseline and 6 months
Change in triglycerides concentration	Triglycerides concentration will be determined in blood	At baseline and 6 months
Change in serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT/AST) concentration	SGOT concentration will be determined in blood	At baseline and 6 months
Change in alanine aminotransferase (SGPT/ALT) concentration	SGPT concentration will be determined in blood	At baseline and 6 months
Change in gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT) concentration	γ-GT concentration will be determined in blood	At baseline and 6 months
Change in body weight		At baseline and 6 months
Change in waist circumference		At baseline and 6 months
Change in hip circumference		At baseline and 6 months
Change in fat mass	Fat mass will be assessed by using whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)	At baseline and 6 months
Change in body fat percentage (%)	Body fat percentage (%) will be assessed by using whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)	At baseline and 6 months
Change in fat free mass	Fat free mass will be assessed by using whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)	At baseline and 6 months
Change in lean body mass	Lean body mass will be assessed by using whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)	At baseline and 6 months
Change in cardiorespiratory fitness	Cardiorespiratory fitness will be assessed using the Ebbeling single stage treadmill test	At baseline and 6 months
Change in functional performance	Functional performance will be assessed using the Short Physical Perforamnce Battery	At baseline and 6 months
Change in muscle endurance	Muscle endurance will be assessed using the push-up and curl-up testing protocols	At baseline and 6 months
Change in resting blood pressure	Resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure will be assessed using a sphygmomanometer	At baseline and 6 months
Change in quality of life	Quality of life will be evaluated using questionnaire	At baseline and 6 months
Change in vitality	Vitality will be evaluated using questionnaire	At baseline and 6 months
Change in anxiety level	Anxiety will be evaluated using questionnaire	At baseline and 6 months
Change in flourishing	Flourishing will be evaluated using questionnaire	At baseline and 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in dietary intake	Dietary intake will be monitored using diet recalls	At baseline and 6 months
Change in daily number of steps	Daily number of steps performed will be assessed by using accelerometers	At baseline and 6 months
Change in daily time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity	The time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity will be assessed by using accelerometers	At baseline and 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Thessaly
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Maria Bougiesi, PhD, University of Thessaly, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): May 30, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 20, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 22, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 22, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 29, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 22, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Psychological Well-Being; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena; Exercise
• Other Study ID Numbers: UTH_2251_Long term

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No