Can Dancing For 30 Minutes A Day Help You Lose Weight?

Can Dancing for 30 Minutes a Day Help You Lose Weight?

Mar 28, 2011 | By Ronny Marie Tucker

Thirty minutes of dancing each day will help you lose weight, but it may not be enough if you have a lot of pounds to lose. To achieve weight loss results, you may need 45 to 60 minutes of physical activity at least three to five days a week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Combining 30 minutes of dance with other activities throughout the day -- and following a low-calorie diet -- will maximize your weight loss results.

Weight Loss

A caloric deficit is necessary for weight loss to occur. Dancing for 30 minutes can burn about 200 calories, depending on your weight, according to the HealthStatus website. Cutting 200 calories from your diet, in addition to dancing for 30 minutes, will result in a small amount of weight loss per week. You must create a 3,500-calorie deficit to lose at least 1 lb. of weight per week. You must either cut more calories from your diet or increase your amount of physical activity for weight loss to occur.

Intensity Level

Dancing at a higher intensity level will burn more calories per minute. For example, fast ballroom dancing can burn more than 200 calories in 30 minutes, whereas slow ballroom dancing burns about 100 calories, depending on your weight, according to HealthStatus.

Types

Swing, tap, Latin, hip-hop and break dancing are more vigorous styles of dance, compared with ballet or slow ballroom dancing. Gyms and fitness facilities often offer aerobic dance classes. However, most aerobic classes last longer than 30 minutes. It doesn't matter what type of dance you perform, as long as you do it for 30 minutes. Turning on the radio and dancing around your room is sufficient to achieve weight loss results.

Suggestions

Add resistance to your dance at least two to three days a week. Wear a weighted vest or dance in water. Resistance training helps strengthen your muscles. Muscle burns more calories than fat per day, even at rest. Dancing in water adds resistance while reducing the amount of pressure on your knees, hips and lower back. Dancing in shallow to chest-high water can reduce about 50 percent of the impact from your body weight, according "Fitness: Theory and Practice" by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America.