Dance therapy improves self-body image among obese patients

Abstract

ObjectiveObesity and disturbed eating behaviors are both associated with low self-esteem and distorted body images. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of a dance therapy program on the evolution of mental representations linked to body image among obese patients. Changes in body image were evaluated in terms of four parameters: physical, psychological, cognitive, and social. MethodsIn total, 18 obese patients were enrolled in a longitudinal dance therapy workshop (DTW) program lasting 36 weeks. Patients danced for 2h per week and were evaluated three times: at baseline, after 18 weeks, and at the end of the study (36 weeks). Evaluation was performed using questionnaires addressing health-related quality of life, sensorial-motor perception, and mental representations linked to body schema and self-body image. ResultsObese patients enrolled in the DTW displayed a significant improvement in health-related quality of life (p<0.03), body consciousness (p<0.001), and mental representations linked to self body image (p<0.001). ConclusionDTW allowed obese patients to reset both their somatic and psychic consciousness of their body image. Practice implicationsPatients are usually reluctant to practice physical activity. Dance therapy improves not only body image, but also psycho-social aspects of their personality.