Purpose Zumba dance exercises are promoted for body weight reduction. However, scientific research on its potential as a weight loss tool is scant. Only a few energy expenditure studies on small samples of relatively young and apparently healthy volunteers were performed, and the energy cost of Zumba has not been translated into actual weight reduction. The study investigated the before-after effects of a Zumba programme on the weight and body mass index (BMI) of 36 females, mean age 34.25 ± 8.50 years and mean BMI 32.98 ± 5.32 kg/m 2 . Methods The intervention involved 16 hourly Zumba sessions held twice weekly over 8 weeks. The exercises comprised a mixture of merengue, salsa, reggaeton and bachata with warm-up and cool-down activities. They were of low-impact style, but were maintained at vigorous intensity that was still bearable for the obese subjects. An important requirement was that the programme had to be taken as an additional part of their lives and not as a means of altering their nutrition and physical activity habits. ResultsThe subjects had statistically significant decreases and large effects for weight and BMI: 2.13 kg, t (35) = 13.77, P \ 0.0005, d = 2.30, and 0.83 kg/m 2 , t (35) = 13.02, P \ 0.0005, d = 2.17, respectively. Conclusions Good programme adherence and other strengths were attributed to this study. However, there could have been factors like history threats that affected the changes. Further studies are therefore required to establish the effectiveness of Zumba as an exercise modality for weight loss.

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Before promoting certain types of physical activities, the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department of Malta wanted to know whether children knew how to perform them in the first place, and if not, what barriers they had encountered. A cross-sectional, self-reported study involved 11-year-old students (boys and girls) from Form 1 classes of six state schools that were equally distributed throughout the northern, middle and southern regions of the island. The sample size (n = 581) represented 18.3% of the whole population of state Form 1s. The analysis involving a one-page questionnaire was conducted anonymously. The investigated motor skills were cycling, rope skipping and swimming. The most common physical activity that was relatively easy to perform was swimming (95% boys; 94% girls), followed by cycling (90% boys; 82% girls). The least popular activity was rope skipping (47% boys; 88% girls). The results showed that in general, these 11-year-olds knew how to perform these basic activities. The reasons for not knowing how to ride a bicycle, skip a rope or swim were also investigated. The children were also allowed to state other reasons that impeded them from doing these activities. Except for rope skipping in boys, the local authorities are in a better position to promote these types of physical activities on a regular basis and to eliminate the barriers which impede other children from performing them.

Treating diabetes mellitus is very expensive and with 10% prevalence, the Maltese healthcare can face serious problems. Despite the evidence that regular exercise lowers blood glucose, few persons with diabetes participated in physical activity due to fear of hypoglycaemia and other barriers. Conventional management of diabetes imposes lifestyle changes and favours pharmaceutical administration. Implementation of grassroots initiatives through health needs assessment leading to community development is an alternative strategy. The main purposes of this article are, to present clear information on community development as an alternative to conventional diabetes interventions, and to serve as a model to stimulate interest amongst the authorities to use this approach for diabetes management. In a fictitious diabetes community scenario, based on available, limited literature, lack of physical activity was identified as the main need to improve health. Through a 'bottom-up' approach based on empowerment and participation, the sedentary community gradually progressed to active subgroups that eventually became less dependent on anti-diabetic medications and car-use. There was the possibility of a sports and recreational strategy. Health promoters were leading players, followed by local councils and other stakeholders. After publishing physical activity guidelines, holding regular recreational activities and celebrations, the community development was sustainable, cost-effective and environmental friendly. Project evaluation was crucial. Funding was governmental and partly sponsored by health-compatible enterprises. Albeit timeconsuming, community development can be the most ethical and effective form of health promotion for diabetes healthcare. This approach offers a challenge to the traditional medical model.