Objective: Obesity is a risk factor for both cognitive and physical impairment in late adulthood. Though the rates of obesity are high in many groups, older African Americans are disproportionately affected. Here, we conducted a randomized pilot intervention of African Dance with 28 African American older adults with obesity (Mean age = 68.4 ±5.1 years; Mean BMI = 33.4 ± 6.2). The goal of the study was to evaluate the physiological outcomes of a culturally sensitive exercise intervention, and specifically changes in weight. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to an African Dance (experimental) or Culture Education (control) group. They attended their assigned class for 1-hour per session, 3 days per week, for 6 months. Results: There was a significant Group x Time interaction on weight (p = .005), such that the African Dance group lost weight (M = 4.0 ± 6.0 lbs.), while the Culture Education group gained weight (M = 2.6 ± 3.9 lbs.). Conclusions: These results suggest that a culturally-sensitive form of physical activity, African Dance, may be effective for promoting weight loss in a population at increased risk for obesity and cognitive decline.

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Background: Currently, about 50% of African American (AA) adults are affected by cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to 38.9% of the general US adult population. Physical inactivity, a major risk factor for CVD, plays a key role in perpetuating the disparities, while physical activity and psychosocial interventions are known to be protective. In this study, we did a secondary analysis of the 6-month Rhythm Experience and Africana Culture Trial (REACT!) to compare the impact of moderate physical activity (African dance) versus an educational control program (culture and health education) in reducing cardiovascular risk. Methods: In the REACT! Trial, CVD risk factors including history of smoking and diabetes, body mass index and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were measured using CDC-BRFSS protocols. In this analysis, we used the non-lab based Framingham algorithm to compute pre- and post-intervention absolute CVD risk scores. Chi-square and t test were used to evaluate between group differences in categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Results: The 28 REACT! Trial participants (mean age 68 yrs, 93% female) were randomly assigned to either the cultural education control group (13) or African dance intervention group (15). At baseline, both groups had comparable cardiovascular risk profiles, including mean SBP (143 vs 146 mmHg; p=0.80) and absolute CVD risk scores (27 vs 29%; p=0.71). Post-intervention, the control group had a more favorable cardiovascular risk profile compared to the intervention group, with improvements in SBP (136 vs 152 mmHg; p=0.028) and absolute CVD risk scores (24 vs 30%; p=0.175), respectively. Conclusions: These data suggest that certain control group characteristics such as social interaction could be potent in lowering SBP compared to moderate physical activity. Possible mechanisms might include the stress-lowering effects of social support and communication in the culture education group.