Abstract
The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the effect of a 12-week low intensity dance exercise intervention in the treatment of hostility subscale, anxiety subscale and depression subscale among overweight women working in Malaysia in an attempt of Sports for all. Forty subjects were recruited from both government and private sectors in Malaysia. Subjects were between the ages of 40 and 55 years, who have had a diagnosis of total stress score above the mean, were not enrolled in any exercise program or were physically inactive over the period of one year (sedentary) overweight (Body Mass Index above 25) and have had a cardiovascular endurance score below the mean. Subjects were randomly assigned to a 12-week low intensity dance exercise of Aero mass, an intervention or a conventional aerobics dance exercise as the control group. A pretest-posttest control research design was utilized. Both groups met for 50 minutes, three times a week (36 sessions). The Transactional Approach Multidimensional (Derogatis Stress Profile) examined the hostility, anxiety and depression response sub-scale. Statistical analysis included (group x time) repeated measures ANOVA to determine between and within group mean differences. The hypotheses of the study received significant support. There were statistically significant differences between*group effect (between treatment and control groups) on the combined dependent variables: F (4, 35) = 20.79, p < .01, eta square = .790. An inspection of the mean scores indicated that treatment group reported an improvement for Hostility sub-scale (M = 47.70, SD = 3.34), Anxiety sub-scale (M = 35.65, SD = 3.64) and for Depression sub-scale (M = 35.65, SD = 2.58). It is concluded that low intensity dance therapy exercise intervention of Aero mass had contributed greatly to the positive findings concerning physical health and psychological well-being among overweight women in Malaysia.
Highlights
The connection between physical and psychological well-being has been pursued for more than 2,000 years [20]
The results of this study shows all the three variable of stress, shows statistically significant difference on “Aero-mass” the treatment group compare to the convention aerobics dance on the control group
The dance exercise is an expressive therapy and it is based on the belief that the mind and body work together and through dance movement aerobics activities, subjects can identify and express their innermost emotions, bringing those feelings to the surface [16]
Summary
The connection between physical and psychological well-being has been pursued for more than 2,000 years [20]. To date, the role of physical exercise has expanded to one of great importance in the promotion of physiological and psychological well-being [7][16][17][34]. Along with the belief that participation at five times a week, performing vigorous exercises of more than 150 minutes at moderate intensity per week will improve both the physical and psychological well-being [4]. Dance movement therapy’s impact on stress management and stress reduction has not been addressed by research. Effects that have been demonstrated empirically include enhanced mood [15][33], arousal control [32], promotion of flow states [25], reduced perceived exertion [32] extended work output, improved skill acquisition [25], and enhanced performance [15].
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