Globally, physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor of mortality.1 While the lack of physical activity can lead to serious health-related problems amongst older adults, engaging in physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and premature death.2,3 When the physical activity level is increased by one metabolic equivalent of task (MET) per day, approximately 15% of coronary heart disease risk is reduced.4

Dance is an exercise intervention that promotes peer communication and expression and improves body movement and coordination.1 According to the American Dance Therapy Association, dance is a psychotherapeutic method to improve emotional, cognitive, physical, and social interactions.2 Cognitive resources are required for dance execution,3 because dance involves various degrees of learning motor programme, implicit memory, attention, coordination, and physical effort.4 Dance exercises can be modified to match a wide range of rehabilitation protocols, leading to specific psychological and physiological systems benefits.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Therefore, dance can incorporate innovation and creativity5 into exercise interventions to improve age-related health conditions.6

Dancing has various applications owing to its low cost and practicality and can be developed with different styles, steps, rhythms, and music, such as folk/traditional dance, ballet, ballroom,7 Tango,8 and Latin dances.9 Dance is known to promote continued participation in physical activity10 and improve mood, posture, and body control for muscle stiffness and postural dysfunction diseases.11 Other previous dance-related studies indicated dance's physiological benefits such as functional capacity, balance, and strength.12 A recent review comparing forms of physical activity summarised that the use of dance interventions reduces the levels of Triglycerides (TG) and Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL-C) in older adults.10

Lower dropout rates have been reported in dance interventions compared to traditional exercise interventions.13 Dance interventions have been shown to induce pleasant perception and psychological support14 and higher compliance with physical activity.15 Some recent studies have predominantly examined the effects of dance on muscle strength and joint loading in a sedentary healthy older population.15 However, few studies have comprehensively analysed the cardiorespiratory fitness and blood lipids of older adults. As older adults are more susceptible to joint and muscle degeneration and lower back pain, pain and safety issues in dance interventions may require further consideration.16, 17, 18, 19 Furthermore, previous dance studies have largely focused on non-obese older adults,10 and few studies have been conducted on obese older adults. Obese adults are particularly susceptible to cardiovascular diseases20 and might be more robust to changes in sedentary lifestyle compared to the non-obese adults.21 Assessing the efficacy of dance interventions by studying cardiopulmonary, body composition, and blood lipids can provide important information on exercise prescriptions for obese older adults.

As dance interventions involve a series of complicated body movements, a long learning and adaptation period is often required for dance interventions.22 Moreover, obese older adults would exert higher loading and stress on their lower extremities compared to non-obese older adults.23 Previous studies have indicated that older adults have lower cognitive resources than younger adults,24 implying that older adults require simple dance movements. To address these concerns, this study developed a simple home-based dance exercise involving a simple lumbo-pelvic coordination movement with an abdominal drawing-in manoeuvre. Hence, this pilot study aimed to examine the effects of a lumbo-pelvic coordination exercise on body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, and blood lipids over 12 weeks of supervised training. It was expected that obese older women who participated in the lumbo-pelvic coordination exercise programme would have improved body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, and blood lipid levels after the 12-week programme compared to those in the control group.