Discussion
Significant improvements in subjective health were seen in this study:
11.3% in physical and 9.4% in mental well-being and up to 45% in
symptoms linked to depression and anxiety.
Moderate or light exercise can affect body and brain function through
various mechanisms: modulation of intestinal hormones[9, 10],
corticosteroids[11, 12] or sex steroids[13]; the growth of brain
networks by stimulating neurotransmitters and growth factors[14-17]
and by acting on the immune system, through levels of cytokines
[18-20].
These molecules affect sleep[11, 21, 22], digestion[23, 24] and
weight control as well as brain functions such as memory[25],
attention[16], cognition[26] and stress control[27]. They
also affect susceptibility to illness as well as tiredness, alertness
and depression[28].
The moderate exercise prescribed in this study reduced symptoms of
depression and anxiety; 24.3% improvement in “worrying too much”,
17% in “trouble relaxing”, 45.6% in “irritability”, 27% in
“feeling down, depressed or helpless”. Other results that could be
linked to modified hormonal environment were the 22.7% improvement in
poor appetite or over-eating, the 21.6% improvement in anhedonia
(little interest or pleasure in doing things) and the 12.2% improvement
in sleep disturbances.
We conclude that providing dance videos to stimulate moderate-intensity
activity with a cognitive challenge could be an inexpensive means to
combat preventable chronic disease. This now requires validation by a
large-scale study incorporating a control (non-dancing) and an
experimental group with the means of measuring actual activity carried
out throughout the day for a more accurate evaluation of the efficacy of
this type of activity.