Introduction: Childhood obesity is a global epidemic that increases the risk of various diseases later in life. Inappropriate eating habits and a lack of physical activity are considered major contributors to obesity. Rhythmic sports activities combined with music may improve children's mental and motor performance due to the combined effects of rhythm and movement. Therefore, this research investigated the impact of different types of sports activities on anthropometric indicators (body size and proportions) and body composition (muscle, fat, and bone mass) in overweight or obese students.
Methodology: The target population for this study included all inactive, obese, or overweight female students aged 9 to 13 in the second elementary school round of Shahrekord City during the academic year 1402-1403 (2022-2023). A multistage random sampling approach was employed. Four elementary schools in Shahrekord were chosen using a multi-stage cluster sampling technique. Subsequently, a single class was randomly selected from each school. Eighty students were then randomly allocated into four groups: (1) Regular sports activity without music, (2) Regular sports activity with music, (3) rhythmic sports activity with music, and (4) rhythmic sports activity without music. The intervention consisted of eight training sessions integrated into the school's physical education program. Each group participated in two 45-minute sessions per week for eight weeks. These sessions included standardized physical activities with and without music, as well as rhythmic games with and without music. Anthropometric measurements, including height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and subcutaneous fat, were taken before and after the intervention. A dependent t-test was used to analyze the data. Statistical significance was set at p <0.05.
Results: All anthropometric indicators significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in the groups that engaged in rhythmic sport activities with music and regular sport activities with music. This suggests that both these interventions were effective in improving body size, proportions, and fat composition. In the group with rhythmic sport activities without music, all indices except the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Regular sports activities without music, however, had little effect on students' anthropometric indicators (p >0.05).
Conclusion: This study found that incorporating rhythmic elements into physical activities led to greater improvements in overweight or obese students' anthropometric indicators compared to Regular sports activities without music. The most significant positive changes were observed in the group that participated in rhythmic sports activities with music. These findings suggest that rhythmic sports activities with music may be a particularly effective strategy for promoting weight management and improving body composition in children.