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It's well established that dance is a good way of encouraging adolescent girls to take exercise but what about older people?
众所周知，跳舞是鼓励青春期女孩锻炼身体的好方式，但老年人呢？
Studies have shown that there are enormous benefits for people in their sixties and beyond.
研究表明，跳舞对60多岁及以上的人有巨大的好处。
One of the great things about dance is that there are no barriers to participation.
跳舞的一个伟大之处在于人们可以毫无阻碍地参与其中。
Anyone can have a go, even those whose standard of fitness is quite low.
任何人都可以尝试跳舞，即使是那些身体素质不好的人。
Dance can be especially beneficial for older adults who can't run or do more intense workouts, or for those who don't want to.
对于不能跑步或不能做更高强度运动或不想做这些运动的老年人来说，跳舞尤其有益。
One 2015 study found that even a gentle dance workout helps to promote a healthy heart.
2015年的一项研究发现，即使是温和的舞蹈锻炼也会促进心脏健康。
And there's plenty of evidence which suggests that dancing lowers the risk of falls, which could result in a broken hip, for example, by helping people to improve their balance.
例如，有大量证据表明，跳舞可以通过帮助改善平衡，降低可能会导致髋部骨折的摔倒风险。
There are some less obvious benefits of dance for older people too.
跳舞对老年人也有一些不太明显的好处。
One thing I hadn't realised before researching this topic was that dance isn't just a physical challenge.
在研究这个话题之前，我没有意识到，跳舞不仅仅是一种身体上的挑战。
It also requires a lot of concentration because you need to remember different steps and routines.
它也需要大量的注意力，因为你需要记住不同的步伐和动作。
For older people, this kind of activity is especially important because it forces their brain to process things more quickly and to retain more information.
对于老年人来说，这种活动尤其重要，因为它促使他们的大脑更快地处理信息，记忆更多信息。
Current research also shows that dance promotes a general sense of well-being in older participants, which can last up to a week after a class.
目前的研究还表明，跳舞能够提高年长参与者的普遍幸福感，这种幸福感可以在课后持续一周。
Participants report feeling less tired and having greater motivation to be more active and do daily activities such as gardening or walking to the shops or a park.
参与者报告说，跳舞后他们感觉不那么累了，并且有更大的动力去更积极地做日常活动，比如园艺或者步行去商店或公园。
Ballroom or country dancing, both popular with older people, have to be done in groups.
在老年人中很受欢迎的交谊舞或乡村舞都需要舞伴。
They require collaboration and often involve touching a dance partner, all of which encourages interaction on the dance floor.
这两类舞蹈需要合作，舞伴之间经常会有肢体接触，所有这些都促进舞池中的互动。
This helps to develop new relationships and can reduce older people's sense of isolation, which is a huge problem in many countries.
这有助于发展新的关系，并可以减少老年人的孤立感——这在许多国家都是一个很大的问题。
I also looked at the benefits of Zumba.
我还研究了尊巴的好处。
Fifteen million people in 180 countries now regularly take a Zumba class, an aerobic workout based on Latin American dance moves.
这是一种基于拉美舞蹈动作的有氧运动，如今180个国家的1500万人定期上尊巴舞课程。
John Porcari, a professor of exercise and sport science at the University of Wisconsin, analysed a group of women who were Zumba regulars and found that a class lasting 40 minutes burns about 370 calories.
威斯康星大学的运动和运动科学教授约翰·波卡里分析了一组经常跳尊巴舞的女性，他发现通过一节持续40分钟的课，舞者可以消耗大约370卡路里。
This is similar to moderately intense exercises like step aerobics or kickboxing.
这类似于中等强度的运动，如有氧踏板操或跆拳道。
A study in the American Journal of Health Behavior showed that when women with obesity did Zumba three times a week for 16 weeks, they lost an average of 1.2 kilos and lowered their percentage of body fat by 1%.
《美国健康行为杂志》的一项研究显示，当肥胖女性坚持在16周内每周三次跳尊巴时，她们平均减掉1.2公斤，体脂率降低1%。
More importantly, the women enjoyed the class so much that they made it a habit and continued to attend classes at least once a week - very unusual for an aerobic exercise programme.
更重要的是，女性非常喜欢这门课，因此她们养成了跳舞的习惯，并继续每周至少上一次课，这对于有氧运动项目来说是非常不寻常的。
Dance is never going to compete with high-intensity workouts when it comes to physical fitness gains, but its popularity is likely to keep on rising because it's such a fun way to keep fit.
在提高身体素质方面，舞蹈永远无法与高强度锻炼相抗衡，但它的受欢迎程度可能会继续上升，因为它是一种非常有趣的健身方式。
