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The Energy Cost of Zumba Exercise

2011; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 43; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1249/01.mss.0000401323.10956.df

1530-0315

Robert M. Otto, Elise Maniguet, Alison Peters, Nabil E. Boutagy, Anna Gabbard, John Wygand, Mary M. Yoke,

Children's Physical and Motor Development

Zumba is a Latin dance fitness program that was developed in Columbia in the mid 1990's. It is currently practiced by an estimated 7.5 million participants each week in over 60,000 sites distributed among 100 countries. Zumba is a form of aerobic dance with a strong Latin influence set to eight basic rhythms (merengue, salsa, cumbia, reggaeton, belly dance, flamenco, tango, and samba). Despite the widespread popularity, there is little known about the actual energy cost of Zumba. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the energy cost and cardiorespiratory stimulus of Zumba. METHODS: 15 subjects (age 21.5± 1.7 yrs, ht. 165 ± 7.1 cm, body mass 58.9 ± 7.9 kg) volunteered to participate in three basic Zumba rhythms (merengue [M], salsa [S], and cumbia [C], as well as an american mix [AM]) as depicted in an official Zumba DVD. Although all participants had performed or instructed Zumba, a familiarization trial was required in which subjects performed the 24 minute Zumba DVD projected on a 152 cm screen, while corrections were provided by instructors. A minimum of 24 hours after familiarization, subjects performed the Zumba movements depicted on the DVD, while oxygen consumption was obtained by open circuit spirometry and heart rate by telemetry. RESULTS: Caloric expenditure was 7.0, 7.4, 6.6 & 6.7, kcal/min, HR was 145, 150, 146 & 148 b/min, relative VO2 was 24.3, 25.9, 22.7 & 23.2 mLO2/kg-min, and absolute VO2 was 1449, 1514, 1353 & 1382 mLO2/min for the M, S, C, and AM trials, respectively. Statistical analysis by ANOVA (p<0.05) revealed no significant difference among the trials. CONCLUSION: Zumba provides a moderate energy cost of 6.6-7.3 METS, which if performed for an hour would be expected to expend 378-448 kcalories.