A 20-minute dance a day will keep NHS doctors at bay, US study finds
Dancing in your kitchen for 20 minutes a day could be enough to help you hit NHS exercise targets.
Doing a morning jig to the radio or boogeying to the evening playlist can be more active than previously thought and help people stay active, scientists have found.
Current guidelines, including those of the NHS, suggest adults complete 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity exercise per week. This is often cited as being in the gym, going for a jog or having a swim, but a study has found dancing is just as effective.
However, research has found that following in singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor 's footsteps and emulating her popular Kitchen Disco show on BBC Radio Two that she began during the pandemic can help you hit those weekly targets.
Scientists from Northeastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts, recruited 48 participants aged 18 to 83 years old with a range of rhythmic experience and asked them to take part in five-minute bouts of dancing.
Oxygen intake and heart rate were measured to determine intensity of the exercise during the sessions and data show all participants reached at least a moderate physical activity level.
The study was led by Dr Aston McCullough, from Northeastern, who said at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference: 'The main idea was to understand whether the intensity that people would receive from dancing freely on their own be enough to be a health-enhancing physical activity.
'And the answer was 'yes'. All adults were able to reach a health-enhancing level of activity without being told what intensity to dance at.
'They just put on their own music and danced around – and even when they didn't have music on they were still reaching that level.
'The main idea for us is that dance is a really accessible form of physical activity that people can do, even in their homes.
'Most people think of dance as something that is light and really easy, but really if you just tell someone to 'have a dance' they're going to get to that level of intensity that you would ask them to do if you were a personal trainer.'
Dr McCullough said that dance can benefit health as it is a form of aerobic activity that can also include some body weight or resistance training.
The study results have been published in the journal PLOS ONE.
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