A Novel High-Intensity Short Interval Dance Intervention (THANDAV) for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention Tailored to Asian Indian Adolescent Girls

Background: A significant majority of adolescents from lower-middle-income countries do not meet recommendations for daily physical activity. THANDAV (Taking High-Intensity Interval Training [HIIT] ANd Dance to Adolescents for Victory over noncommunicable diseases [NCDs]) is a 10-minute dance intervention incorporating principles of HIIT. The present study evaluated the effect of THANDAV on cardiovascular risk factors and lifestyle behavior in Asian Indian adolescent girls. Methods: THANDAV was delivered as a 12-week pilot cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) in two schools, involving 108 schoolgirls aged 13 to 15 years in Chennai, India. The primary outcome was step counts, while secondary outcomes included metabolic, clinical, and lifestyle parameters. Focus group discussions and interviews were held to assess barriers to and acceptability of THANDAV intervention. Results: In the intention-to-treat analysis, the intervention group had significantly favorable changes in step counts (+1073 steps/day), skeletal muscle mass (+0.9 kg), body weight (−0.7 kg), body fat percentage (−2.0%), body mass index (−0.3 kg/m 2 ), waist circumference (−1.0 cm), systolic (−4 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure (−4 mm Hg), resting heart rate (−3 bpm) and body fat mass (−1.7 kg), moderate -to-vigorous physical activity (+29.5 minutes/day), sleep (+46.4 minutes/day), sedentary time (−199.7 minutes/day), Adolescence Stress Scale (−6.6), and junk food consumption (−2.7) scores compared with controls. Qualitative interviews revealed that THANDAV routines were time-efficient, enjoyable, and easily fit into adolescents’ busy schedules enabling feasible engagement in active leisure time. Conclusions: THANDAV is a culturally acceptable HIIT-based dance intervention that improves leisure-time physical activity and reduces cardiometabolic risk in Asian Indian adolescent girls. Trial Registration: The trial is registered with the Central Trials Registry-India (CTRI/2020/02/023384; URL: https://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/pmaindet2.php?EncHid=MzgyMTQ=&Enc=&userName= ).