Effectiveness of Thai Traditional Dance on Exercise Behavior, Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Level among Ageing Adults with Hypertension, Chantha Buri Province

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Thai traditional dance on exercise behav-ior, levels of blood pressure and cholesterol among ageing adults with hypertension. Seventy ageing adults with hypertension participated in this study which was conducted in Chantha Buri province, Thailand. The participants were randomly divided equally into the treatment and control groups. Research tool was a Thai traditional dance as an exercise program. Data were collected using a set of questionnaire, and were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, paired samples t-test, independent samples t-test and repeated measure ANOVA. The results showed that after 10 weeks and 16 weeks of dancing exercise, the average score of exercise behaviors in the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control (p<0.001); and the average scores of systolic and diastolic blood pressure were lower (p<0.001). Fur-thermore, the average scores of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol after 16 weeks in the experimental group were lower than the control group (p<0.001); and the average score of HDL cholesterol was higher (p<0.001). In conclusion, the effect of Thai traditional dance exercise program could improve exercise behaviors and could reduce blood pressure and cholesterol level. Therefore, the approach should be widely applied in order to promote health in patients with hypertension.