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As global aging rises, identifying strategies to mitigate age-related physical decline has become an urgent priority. Dance represents a promising exercise modality for older adults, yet few studies have quantified the external loads older dancers experience. This study aimed to characterize the impacts accumulated across lower limb and spinal locations in older adults during Latin dance. Thirty older Latin dancers (age = 66.56 ± 6.38 years; female = 93.3%) wore inertial sensors on the scapulae, lumbar spine, knees, and ankles during a 1 h class. A distal-to-proximal gradient emerged in the total impacts (F = 429.29; p < 0.01; ωp2 = 0.43) and per intensities (F = 103.94-to-665.55; p < 0.01; ωp2 = 0.07-to-0.54), with the highest impacts sustained in the ankles (≈9000 total impacts) from 2 g to >10 g (p < 0.01; d = 1.03-to-4.95; ankles > knees > lower back > scapulae) and knees (≈12,000 total impacts) when p < 0.01, d = 2.73-to-3.25; knees > ankles > lower back > scapulae). The majority of the impacts remained below 6 g across all anatomical locations (>94%). The impacts also increased in lower limb locations with faster tempos (r = 0.10-to-0.52; p < 0.01), while subtly accumulating over successive songs rather than indicating fatigue (r = 0.11-to-0.35; p < 0.01). The mild ankle and knee loads could strengthen the dancers’ lower extremity bones and muscles in a population vulnerable to sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and falls. Quantifying the workload via accelerometry enables creating personalized dance programs to empower healthy aging. With global aging rising, this work addresses a timely public health need regarding sustainable lifelong exercise for older people. Ranging from low to moderate, the measured impact magnitudes suggest that dance lessons may provide enough osteogenic stimulus without overloading structures.

The purpose of this project was to examine the effect of a concurrent exercise program (sprint interval training and resistance exercise) on body composition in women with obesity and factors associated with continued exercise participation following the program. Twenty women (37.1 ± 7.4 y, height = 1.63 ± 0.09 m, weight = 98.22 ± 0.22 kg, BMI = 34.2 ± 2.50 kg/m2) participated in a 10-week exercise intervention consisting of a sprint interval treadmill protocol and resistance training three times a week totaling 30 sessions. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (iDXA) at pretest, 12 weeks, and six months post-intervention. Semi-structured interviews assessed participants’ perception of the program at both 12 weeks and six months. Participants significantly reduced fat mass (p < 0.001), gynoid fat mass (p < 0.010), android fat mass (p = 0.003), and visceral fat mass (p = 0.003) at 12 weeks post-test. At six months, participants maintained their reductions in fat mass (p = 0.015), visceral fat (p = 0.040) and gynoid fat mass (p = 0.032). There were no significant main time effects in lean mass (p = 0.099) or caloric intake (p = 0.053) at 12 weeks or six months. Themes that emerged from the semi-structured interviews at 12 weeks reflected enjoyment in the training, increases in competence and knowledge, as well as apprehension of continuing training on their own. At six months, themes that emerged reflected overcoming barriers, competence regarding high-intensity training, and a lack of competence to engage in resistance training. Sprint interval training coupled with resistance training is a feasible exercise protocol for women with obesity and results in reduced fat mass over six months. Improving women’s competence for training is imperative for continued participation.