Dance Participation in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adolescents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To describe the prevalence of dance participation and the contribution of dance to total moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in a nationally representative sample of adolescents. METHODS: The sample was from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination survey (NHANES) and included 3598 adolescents (12- to 19-years of age). Youth reported the frequency, duration, and intensity of specific activities (from a list of 48) performed in the past 30 days. Activities of < 10 minutes/session were excluded. To address excessive values, frequency and duration > 90 times/30 days and > 240 min/session were coded to 90 times and 240 minutes, respectively. Prevalence of dance participation, quantity of dance, and total MVPA (min/month) were calculated. Percent contribution of dance to total MVPA was determined. NHANES recommended sample weights were used. RESULTS: Overall, 20.9 ± 1.0% of adolescents reported dancing in the past month. More girls (34.8 ± 2.0%) than boys (8.4 ± 0.8%) reported dancing. The prevalence of dance participation was higher in Non-Hispanic Black (39.5 ± 2.8%) and Hispanic girls (39.5 ± 2.6%) compared to Non-Hispanic White girls (32.6 ± 2.8%). Dance participation prevalence was similar across age and family income groups. Among youth who reported dancing, girls reported more dancing (612.3 ± 43.2 min/month) in the past month than boys (497.0 ± 80.9 min/month). Within this same group, 35.9 ± 1.4% of total MVPA (2316.3 ± 118.4 min/month) was accounted for by dancing. Although boys had more total MVPA, girls had a significantly greater contribution of dance (39.3 ± 1.5%) to total MVPA (2128.5 ± 129.3 min/month) compared to boys (23.0 ± 3.0%; 3016.3 ± 262.3 min/month). Non-Hispanic Black girls had a significantly higher proportion of dancing (46.5 ± 1.4%) to total MVPA than Non-Hispanic White girls (36.0 ± 1.8%). Among girls, the quantity and contribution of dance to total MVPA were evenly distributed across the 4 family income groups. Among boys, the quantity and contribution of dance to total MVPA were higher in the lowest income group (< $20,000/year) compared to the higher family income groups (≥ $20,000/year). CONCLUSIONS: Dance is a highly prevalent activity among girls and it contributes a significant portion of MVPA to their total physical activity.