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| Participants in a senior dance sports competition perform at Seoul Fashion Art Hall, central Seoul. Korea Times file |
By Lee Suh-yoon
Elderly women who enjoy paired dancing activities such as salsa, the tango, or ballroom dancing can better fend off physical impairments associated with aging, according to a joint study.
According to an eight-year study on 1,003 women between the ages of 70 and 84 in Itabashi, Tokyo, women who enjoyed sports dancing had a 74 percent lower chance of experiencing motion-related disabilities that could hinder daily routines such as dining or bathing, Kyung Hee University and Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Gerontology announced Tuesday.
Similar benefits were not perceived among women who were engaged in other activities, such as aerobic exercises, walking or yoga. Only dancing was found to be a clear preventive factor of activities of daily living (ADL) disabilities.
The research team credited the physical benefits of dancing to its focus on balance, strength and endurance training. Cognitive abilities were also enhanced, it said, as dancing requires both concentration and memorization.
"The study focused on Japanese women, but is applicable to Korea as well, which is also faced with an aging population," Won Jang-won, a family medicine professor at Kyung Hee University, said.
