The Effects of Aerobic Dance–Based Physical Education Activities on Health-Related Physical Fitness Among Overweight Adolescents

Abstract

This study aimed to (1) examine the effects of an aerobic dance–based physical education program on health-related physical fitness among overweight adolescents, and (2) compare mean scores of health-related physical fitness before the intervention and after the 8th week of participation. The research employed a pre-experimental design. The sample consisted of 20 overweight students (10 males and 10 females) from the Thailand National Sports University, Udon Thani Campus. The sample size was determined using G*Power software, with an effect size of 0.50, a significance level of .05, and a statistical power of .80. The intervention instrument was an aerobic dance–based physical education program implemented over 8 weeks, three sessions per week, with each session lasting 60 minutes. The program demonstrated acceptable content validity (IOC = 0.83) and reliability (α = 0.81). Data collection instruments included body composition assessment using the X-Scan Plus II analyzer, the sit-and-reach test, the 60-second sit-up test, and the standing long jump test. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and dependent samples t-test.

The findings revealed that after completing the 8-week program, participants showed statistically significant improvements at the .05 level in flexibility, standing long jump distance, number of sit-ups completed in 60 seconds, and body fat mass. In conclusion, the aerobic dance–based physical education program was effective in enhancing health-related physical fitness and improving body composition among overweight adolescents.