Kostyaeva V.V. Modern choreographic art as a way of treatment and prevention of obesity in adolescents

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Publication date: 01.03.2023
DOI: 10.51871/2782-6570_2023_02_01_7                                 
UDC 793; 612.062

MODERN CHOREOGRAPHIC ART AS A WAY OF TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF OBESITY IN ADOLESCENTS

V.V. Kostyaeva

Russian State University of Physical Culture, Sports, Youth and Tourism, Moscow, Russia

Annotation. The article presents the results of the effectiveness of using dance movements of modern choreographic art in reducing body mass and increasing the adaptive reserves of the body in girls with I class obesity.

Keywords: constitutional and exogenous obesity, overweight, adaptive potential, choreographic art, motor activity.

Introduction. Overweight and obesity are the most сommon endocrine disturbances among children and adolescents. The most prevalent type of obesity related with an excessive calorie intake in conditions of a sedentary lifestyle and genetic predisposition is constitutional and exogenous (idiopathic) obesity [1]. Decreased motor activity leads to disturbed balance between accumulative and expended energy, which entails a violation of adaptive mechanisms [2]. Metabolic disorders in overweight adolescents form at an early stage and always associate with insulin resistance [3-4]. Cardiovascular diseases and type II diabetes may become consequences of developing adolescent obesity [2]. Among other factors there are unbalanced nutrition, lack of physical activity and emotional stress [1, 5]. A comprehensive treatment of adolescent obesity, including diet therapy, correction of eating behavior and inclusion of physical activity will significantly and long-term reduce body mass without medicated support [4]. Adolescent often face a need to increase motor activity, choosing types of choreographic arts. Therefore, there is a necessity to substantiate new approaches for choosing special dancing programs for girls with overweight and I class obesity.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using dance types of choreographic art in reducing body mass and increasing the adaptive reserves of the body in adolescent girls with class I obesity.

Methods and organization. In order to achieve the set goal we used following methods studying functional state that evaluate the effectiveness of using dance in prevention of adolescent obesity. We identified following anthropometric indicators: waist circumference (WC, cm), hip circumference (HC, cm), calculated ratio of WC/HC and the body mass index (BMI), height (cm), weight (kg), measured skinfold thickness above the triceps (triceps S, mm), the adipose tissue percent (was calculated with the Slaughter formula), heart rate (HR, beats/min), systolic (sBP, mm of Hg) and diastolic (dBP, mm of Hg) blood pressure, vital capacity (VC, l), wrist dynamometry (kg), adaptive potential of the cardiovascular system (AP, points), calculated analytically according to the R.M. Baevskij’s method [5]. We have conducted a statistical analysis with SPSS 21.0 for Windows. We calculated mean values of the indicators and the standard deviation value (σ). Significance of obtained results were processed with the Wilcoxon T-test if p≤0,05.  As a diagnostic criterion of overweight and obesity, we chose the value of BMI standard deviation (BMI SDS). The overweight criteria in adolescents were identified according to the data from percentile tables or BMI’s SDS (standard deviation score) [1, 6].    

The study included students of the “Okhta” Youth Center in St. Petersburg, young girls (n=11) aged 16±0.5 years with I class obesity and a doctor’s permission to visit dancing classes with moderate activity. According to the preliminary testing, all girls had similar levels of physical fitness.

A health program included such types of stage dance arts as classic choreography, as well as modern dance. The classes took 3 times a week, a duration of one class was 1.5 hours. The study’s duration amounted to 5 months. The girls received recommendations for rational diet to control body mass. During the study, they were also advised to keep a daily calorie count (1600-1800 kcal/day).

The study was divided into 3 stages: initial, main and final.

The initial stage (15 days) included a study of the functional state of cardiovascular and respiratory system, we identified anthropometric indicators, the adaptive potential level and developed a program for applying dance types of motor activity.

The second stage (4 months): girls were engaged in classes, the following types of dance included in the program:

- Classical dance – a type of choreographic arts that includes moderate activity of aerobic direction. Ballet movements contribute to emotion expression, development of coordination abilities, sense of rhythm and plasticity. The classical dance exercises form a dancer’s body, eliminate posture defects and flat-foot [7]. A classical dance class included exercises with a ballet bar (a set of exercises aimed at developing flexibility, leg turnout, strengthening of the musculoskeletal system), as well as exercises in the middle of the ballet class. The girls learned how to distribute body mass correctly when performing complex coordination movements, which contributed to stabilization development, and mastered different ballet movements such as turns and jumps.

- Modern dance is one of the directions of modern choreography. Modern dance moves are aimed towards the development of rhythm, plasticity and expressiveness [8]. The main focus was pointed at the body architecture: body movement in space, movement articulation. Dance composition included different spirals and bends combined with leg movements both in static poses and in action. The girls learned techniques of drops and sit-ups: moving weight between different body parts for a smooth transition from one position to another. The use of the “release” technique contributed to understanding their body: muscle and respiratory activity, use of different words of a dancer’s choreographic vocabulary [8].

At this stage, following tasks were solved:

1. Normalization of metabolic processes;
2. Decrease of body mass;
3. Strengthening of small and medium muscle groups;
4. Increasing endurance;
5. Increase of functional capabilities of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

At the third, final stage (10-15 days) the girls continued visiting dance classes according to the developed program. The final research took place, we measured anthropometric indicators, main indicators of the functional state of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Results and discussion. Table 1 presents dynamics of anthropometric and BMI indicators of the studied group.

Table 1

Dynamics of anthropometric indicators of the studied adolescents, Хmean±σ

Indicators	Before the study	At the end of the study	p
BMI (kg/m2)	29.2±1.7	27.5±1.2	≤0.05
WC (cm)	95.3±3	89.2±2.6	≤0.05
HC (cm)	97.8±1.4	94.3±2.0	≤0.05
Triceps S (mm)	16.2±1.3	13.1±1.6	≤0.05
Adipose tissue percent	26.8±2.7	22.8±2.6	≤0.05
Wrist dynamometry (kg): - right wrist - left wrist	20.7±0.7 18.1±0.3	24.3±0.4 23.6±0.9	≥0.05

Note: BMI – body mass index; WC – waist circumference; HC – hip circumference; triceps S – measured skinfold thickness above the triceps

The effectiveness of used dance types of motor activity is proven by positive changes in anthropometric indicators – a decrease of BMI and decrease of body circumference indicators (p≤0,05).  BMI has significantly decreased by 5,82%, WC has also significantly decreased by 4.39%. We have registered a significant decrease of HC by 3.57%. The skinfold thickness has changed by 3.1 mm (p≤0,05), the adipose tissue percent has decreased by 14.92%, which indicates the loss of the fat component of body mass. According to the right and left wrist dynamometry, the indicators have improved by 3.6 and 5.5 kg respectively (p≥0,05). The results may prove a high level of strength capabilities of higher limbs of adolescents engaged in choreography [8].

The functional indicators of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems after the study have a positive trend for improvement.

The effectiveness of applying dance movements was assessed according to the dynamics of studied indicators (table 2).

Table 2

Dynamics of the functional indicators in studied adolescents, Хmean±σ

Indicators	Before the study	At the end of the study	p
VC (l)	2.9±0.2	3.1±0.2	≥0.05
sBP (mm of Hg)	117.2±5.0	120.5±3.1	≥0.05
dBp (mm of Hg)	68.0±4.4	70.5±3.3	≥0.05
HR (beats/min)	77.9±3.7	74.8±2.3	≤0.05
AP (c.u.)	2.2±0.9	2.1±0.7	≤0.05

Note: VC – vital capacity, sBP – systolic blood pressure; dBP – diastolic blood pressure; HR – heart rate; AP – adaptive potential

When analyzing the functional indicators of the cardiovascular systems, we have revealed that the VC improved by 0.2 l (p≥0.05). We have also noted normalization of sBP (by 3.3 mm of Hg) and dBP (by 2.5 mm of Hg). The hemodynamic indicators’ evaluation has also demonstrated a significant improvement of HR by 3.1 beats/min (p≤0.05), which indicates the myocardium’s adaptation to dosed activity. According to the adaptive potential, all girls have satisfactory adaptation that reflects the effectiveness of using dance classes for losing weight.

Conclusion. The use of active dance training with measures for adjusting eating behavior contributes to the formation of muscle definition and weight loss, significant increase of adaptive capabilities, normalization of the blood pressure level, improvement of blood vessels’ condition, normalization of basic hemodynamic parameters, influence on physical and mental health. Classes of different dances, such as modern and classical choreography, are the key to maintaining motor activity, they contribute to the comprehensive, balanced devel­op­ment [6] of the younger generation and attract an increasing number of adolescents to this activity.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Viktoria Vasil’evna Kostyaeva – Senior Lecturer of the Department of Physical Rehabilitation, Massage and Health-Improving Physical Culture named after I.M. Sarkizov-Serazini, Russian State University of Physical Culture, Sports, Youth and Tourism, Moscow, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For citation: Kostyaeva V.V. Modern choreographic art as a way of treatment and prevention of obesity in adolescents. Russian Journal of Sports Science: Medicine, Physiology, Training, 2023, vol. 2, no. 1. DOI: 10.51871/2782-6570_2023_02_01_7