The Limited Impact of Low-Volume Recreational Dance on Three-Compartment Body Composition and Apparent Bone Mineral Density in Young Girls

Abstract

Recreational dance is practiced worldwide as a multidimensional physical activity with a potential for prevention of a sedentary lifestyle and overweight/obesity. This study explored in young (7−15 year; n = 21) girls the effect of long-term (>1 year) exposure to recreational (2 h/w) dancing on three-compartment body composition. Recreational dancers (RD) were compared with recreational (≤4 h/w) artistic gymnasts (RG, n = 22) and physically active young girls not involved in structured extracurricular physical activity (control; C, n = 22), adjusting for confounding variables (age, body mass, menarche). We hypothesized for RD an intermediate body composition between RG and C. The three groups had similar age and body mass index. Body composition indices in RD were intermediate between that of C and RG, but RD values were not statistically significantly different vs. C. This agreed with the not statistically significant higher energy expenditure (MET-min/w) in RD vs. C (1357.7 ± 805.32 and 1090.9 ± 596.63, p = 0.172). In conclusion, long-term recreational dance exposure at low volume had limited positive effect on body composition of young girls vs. unstructured extracurricular physical activity. Future work will explore the potential of recreational dance at higher volume (3−4 h/w) to improve body composition in young girls.

Keywords: body fat; body lean mass; bone mineral content; bone mineral density; dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; physical exercise.

Figure 1

Box plots of estimated weekly energy expenditure (MET-min/w) in the three groups of young girls. RD, recreational dancers; RG, recreational gymnasts; C, physically active controls. ***, p ≤ 0.001. Box, range between the 25th and 75th percentile; solid line, median value; x, mean value; upper whisker, maximum score; lower whisker, minimum score.

Figure 2

Estimated marginal means for fat mass index (FMI, kg/squared stature in meters; panel a, b) and percentage of fat mass (%FM; panel c–e) in the three groups of girls after adjusting for age, body mass, and menarche. RD, recreational dancers; RG, recreational gymnasts; C, physically active controls. *, p ≤ 0.05; **, p ≤ 0.01; ***, p ≤ 0.001.

Figure 3

Estimated marginal means for fat-free mass index (FFMI, kg/squared stature in meters) at whole body (panel a) and appendicular (panel b) level in the three groups of girls after adjusting for age, body mass, and menarche. RD, recreational dancers; RG, recreational gymnasts; C, physically active controls. ***, p ≤ 0.001.

Figure 4

Estimated marginal means for bone mineral apparent density (BMAD, kg/cm³) in the three groups of girls at several skeletal sites (panel a–e) after adjusting for age, body mass, and menarche. RD, recreational dancers; RG, recreational gymnasts; C, physically active controls. *, p ≤ 0.05; **, p ≤ 0.01; ***, p ≤ 0.001. TBLH, total body less head.

Figure 5

Scatterplot of weekly energy expenditure and percent FM, and stature-adjusted body composition variables in the whole groups of girls (recreational dancers, recreational gymnasts, and physically active controls). Raw correlations were as follows: (a) r = −0.262, p = 0.035; (b) r = −0.097, p = 0.443; (c) r = 0.516, p < 0.001; (d) r = 0.214; p = 0.087; (e) r = 0.353, p = 0.004. For adjusted correlations (r_PC), see text. TBLH, total body less head. WB, whole body; FM, fat mass; FMI, fat mass index; FFMI, fat-free mass index; BMAD, bone mineral apparent density.