01-05-2025
Chennai's HIIT dance routine helps adolescent girls beat obesity: Why a new study has lessons in preventive health
Thirty-nine-year old Sujatha, a homemaker in Chennai, simply loves dancing to Prabhudeva's 'Vikkalu Vikkalu.' Inspired by her daughter, she doesn't miss this 10-minute dance workout based on High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) on Fridays. 'The fast calorie burns and a variety of stretches have improved my flexibility,' she says. Meanwhile, these short dance sessions have not only kept 15-year-old Sarah Michelle energetic despite long hours at school and coaching classes, they have also increased her muscle mass, lowered her appetite for junk food and improved her sleep.
A study has demonstrated the benefits of a new fitness routine called THANDAV, (Taking High-Intensity Interval Training [HIIT] And Dance to Adolescents for Victory over Non-communicable Diseases [NCDs]). This was devised by Dr Ranjith Anjana Mohan of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation and first tested among 23 girls, aged between 10 and 17, to see if it could neutralise sedentary behaviour among school-going adolescents and improve their metabolism with a fun and crisp routine. Subjects reported that this short- burst activity was not only easy to fit into school schedules but could keep their weight in check.
To validate this finding further, she conducted trials across two schools in Chennai with 108 girls aged between 13 and 15. One school did the THANDAV while the other served as a control. Over a 12-week period, the girls in the THANDAV group could increase their daily step count by 1073 steps, reduce their body fat by 2% and improve muscle mass. Additionally, participants reported significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, along with a drop in resting heart rate by 3 bpm (beats per minute).
What is THANDAV?
This involves short bursts of intense activity followed by cooldown time — with dance moves set to popular songs from Bollywood, Mollywood and Tollywood. Doing this thrice a week for even 10 minutes gives you all the metabolic benefits of running 60 minutes a day every day of the week.
HIIT regimens have been proven to significantly reduce body fat mass, weight and improve cardiovascular fitness in both adults and adolescents. The 10-minute HIIT routine consists of four loops to be done on four hit tracks, including a two-minute high energy (80-90 per cent heart rate) to 30-second low cooldown (50-60 per cent heart rate) moves. The movements are choreographed in a simple and repetitive manner so that they can be done in a loop without much stress.
Takeaways from the study
'While we had seen weight loss before, this time the major takeaway was an increase in muscle mass, essential for foundational health that can prevent chronic illnesses in adult years. Besides, this intervention is easy to stick to and prevents childhood obesity and diabetes. It can be accommodated even between exam schedules when students tend to negotiate physical activity. That's why one in four teens is obese,' says Dr Anjana.
But what impressed her the most was this fitness routine resulted in positive behavioural changes in the girls. 'They reduced junk food intake, ate more at home, cut down their sitting hours by almost 200 minutes and increased the sleep duration by almost 47 minutes. The benefits of lifestyle correction at this age can cascade into adult years,' she adds.
Status of Type 2 diabetes among adolescents
According to study authors, Type 2 diabetes occurs at younger ages in Indians compared to Caucasians. In fact, adolescents make up 14.2% of Type 2 diabetics. That's why regular physical activity becomes even more important for Indian teens. Currently, around 25.2 per cent of adolescents do not meet moderate-to-vigorous physical activity guidelines, with urban residents (38%) and girls (29.3%) being less likely to be active. 'Girls have to face many cultural and societal barriers but this routine blends seamlessly into their lives. They can even do this at home,' says Dr Anjana.
The programme, which has already benefited over 10,000 women and girls since its launch in October 2023, has the potential to be scaled widely across schools and communities.
