A short dance-exercise intervention as a strategy for improving quality of life in inactive workers

Objective: To investigate the effects of a short exercise intervention based on the use of a Zumba Fitness((R)) programme on the quality of life (QoL) in inactive adult workers. Design: Non-experimental pre-test/post-test study involving one experimental group of inactive university workers. Setting: Riobamba in the Andean region of central Ecuador. Methods: A total of 60 inactive adults working at a university (age: 391.0years; 80% women, who used to perform<150min of moderate-vigorous physical activity per week) completed a 5-week Zumba Fitness((R)) exercise intervention (three classes per week, 60minutes per class; outside of work hours). QoL was assessed using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) administered at baseline, post-intervention and 2months after the intervention. Data were analysed using a per-protocol analysis. Results: The 5-week intervention improved six out of eight subscales of QoL, including general health (baseline: 63.6 +/- 2.51; post-intervention: 68.0 +/- 2.5; p=.007), physical role (baseline: 82.1 +/- 3.8; post-intervention: 90.6 +/- 3.3; p=.029), emotional role (baseline: 71.3 +/- 5.0; post-intervention: 88.3 +/- 3.9; p=.001), social functioning (baseline: 76.9 +/- 2.6; post-intervention: 83.9 +/- 2.6; p=.010), vitality (baseline: 60.4 +/- 2.8; post-intervention: 69.8 +/- 2.4; p<.001), mental health (baseline: 72.4 +/- 2.5; post-intervention: 80.4 +/- 2.3; p<.001) and the health transition perception item (baseline: 53.9 +/- 3.5; post-intervention: 63.6 +/- 3.1; p=.001). No statistical differences were found between post-intervention and 2-month follow-up; however, the majority of subscales which improved post-intervention (general health, emotional role, social functioning, vitality and mental health) were maintained at 2-month follow-up showing differences (p<.05) compared to baseline. Conclusion: A 5-week exercise intervention based on Zumba Fitness((R)) programme could improve QoL in inactive adult workers and most improvements could be maintained at 2months post-intervention.