Bhopal: The Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT), a journal covering aspects of diagnosing and managing diabetes, has published a study on the health benefits of THANDAV, a high-intensity short interval dance intervention, on adolescent Asian Indian girls.
The project head Dr RM Anjana said, “There exist several barriers to physical activity among adolescent girls. We therefore developed a dance and fitness intervention called THANDAV (Taking High-Intensity Interval Training and Dance to Adolescents for Victory over non-communicable diseases).”
Anjana is the managing director of Diabetes Research Foundation. Dr Ranjini Harish, Research Officer & Project Manager, from Bhopal, also contributed to the research.
According to study, a large number of Asian Indian adolescent girls are less physically active when compared to boys their age. This puts them at a higher risk for diabetes, NCDs (non-communicable diseases), deteriorating bone health and poor reproductive health.
The main aim of this study was to evaluate THANDAV protocol among Asian Indian girls aged 10 to 17 years. Harish said, “We organised a 2-day workshop and taught participants a culturally inclusive and Made in India Thandav HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) dance routine to the participants, which was a huge success.”
“The participants were made to practice at home for three weeks. After three weeks, the participants were invited to perform THANDAV for 10 minutes continuously. The participants heart rate, BMI (Body Mass Index), respiratory rate, glucose levels, height, weight, blood pressure, alertness, motivation levels, stamina levels, volume of oxygen consumed and volume of carbon dioxide produced were monitored and recorded. During 10-minute routine, the participants reached 80% to 90% of their maximum heart rate. There was significant improvement in their fitness, motivation and concentration level,” added Anjana.
The study concluded that Asian Indian adolescent girls were more likely to practice THANDAV intervention as they found this unique HIIT workout exciting and sustainable. HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) workouts have been proved to have a positive effect on glucose control, improving cardiorespiratory fitness and overall cardio metabolic health in adolescents.
