{"id":16207,"date":"2019-10-22T11:01:20","date_gmt":"2019-10-22T16:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lern.org\/?p=16207"},"modified":"2021-08-01T15:58:57","modified_gmt":"2021-08-01T20:58:57","slug":"why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs","status":"publish","type":"club_article","link":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Offer Belly Dance in Your Enrichment Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lern.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screen-Shot-2019-10-22-at-11.51.46-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-16208 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/lern.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screen-Shot-2019-10-22-at-11.51.46-AM-226x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"226\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>It is always disappointing when people with strong opinions and modest information make public statements that affect others. This is particularly true if their assertions mislead others or contribute to a broader dissemination of misinformation. Such a circumstance has occurred relative to Adult Enrichment programs offered through school districts.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">In the name of \u201cgood fiscal management\u201d many enrichment courses have been fingered as examples of how public dollars are allocated to support \u201cfluff\u201d programs that are of little or no value to the community.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at just one of the examples\u2014a course on Belly Dance.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">Before we decide whether this is valueless or \u201cfluffy\u201d let\u2019s take a look at some statistics about the population of the US where these courses are offered.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">According to the World Health Organization, each year 300,000 Americans die prematurely from obesity-related complications. Among lifestyle-related illnesses, only cigarette smoking takes a higher toll. But smoking deaths are declining, while obesity deaths continue to climb.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">The percentage of overweight Americans has increased by about a third in the last 20 years, and heavier adults are on the way because more than 25% of today&#8217;s children are overweight or obese.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">Obesity is currently the number one self-reported diagnosis on applications made to the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">According to a study by the Institute of Medicine, obesity costs the United States about $70 billion annually, in direct health care expenses or in lost productivity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">Morbid obesity is the harbinger of many diseases involving most of the body systems, including diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, sleep apnea, Pickwickian syndrome (uncontrollable sleep following a meal), low back and disk disease, weight-bearing osteoarthritis of the hips, knees, ankles, and feet, thrombophlebitis and pulmonary emboli, intertriginous dermatitis, gallstones, and cirrhosis and carcinoma of the liver. In women, cancer of the uterus and cancer of the breast are also associated with morbid obesity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">Taken together, the many diseases caused by morbid obesity reduce the likelihood of attaining the average life span to one-seventh of normal and raise annual mortality to 20 to 40 times the normal rate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">In our society, morbid obesity is also a serious economic, psychological, social, marital, and sexual problem. To laugh at the obese is one of the last generally permitted prejudices of our society.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; line-height: 135%; font-family: Open Sans;\">In a study conducted by the Mayo Clinic in Olmstead County, Minnesota, A random-digit dial telephone survey of 1,224 Olmsted County residents, found that 65.6 percent of men and 47.9 percent of women reported that they were overweight or obese. Of the respondents, 72.6 percent of men and 85.1 percent of women reported that they were either trying to lose or not gain weight. The average weight loss goal for individuals trying to lose weight was 23.4 pounds for men and 28 pounds for women. Only one-third of individuals trying to lose weight and one-fifth of individuals trying not to gain weight reported using the recommended approach of combining food restriction with at least 150 minutes of exercise a week.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 12pt; line-height: 135%; font-family: Open Sans;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lern.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screen-Shot-2019-10-22-at-11.52.01-AM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-16209\" src=\"https:\/\/lern.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screen-Shot-2019-10-22-at-11.52.01-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"389\" height=\"244\" \/><\/a>In another study, researchers found in their study of health behaviors of women after a breast cancer diagnosis that only a minority (39 percent) of the respondents reported consuming a diet low in fat and exercising at recommended levels, which suggests a need to improve both diet and exercise levels.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">&#8220;Future work is needed in designing and implementing interventions that will promote adoption and maintenance of healthy dietary and exercise behaviors among breast cancer patients,&#8221; according to Bernardine M. Pinto, Ph.D., of the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine Miriam Hospital and Brown Medical School and an author of the study. &#8220;It is likely that these positive lifestyle changes may help these women to live longer, healthier lives and enhance their quality of life.&#8221;<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">The study surveyed 86 women who had been treated for breast cancer. It found 54 percent were overweight or obese. Overweight and obese women reported low self-efficacy for exercise and eating, suggesting that interventions should focus on increasing self-efficacy for behavior change.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">Another article in Mayo Clinic Proceedings summarizes the benefits of undertaking daily physical activity and recommends that physicians include physical activity counseling into their practice. Not only can physicians affect their patients\u2019 activities, but the authors note that physicians can influence policies related to <strong>physical activity promotion in the community. <\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">We could go on, but let\u2019s stop here for now.\u00a0 We know obesity is a problem in our society as a whole and in Minnesota. We know that it costs the economy billions of dollars each year. We know that it results in increased health care costs, loss of time from work, and shorter life-spans. We also know that there are ways to reduce obesity and all the community and social problems that it creates. We can eat less and exercise more. That\u2019s where Belly Dance comes in.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">Many people join Belly Dance classes as a form of exercise. For those who are very obese, the aerobic activity of Belly Dance is very helpful in losing weight.\u00a0 For those with less weight to lose, supplementing Belly Dance with a more aerobic form of exercise is helpful. One well-known ingredient in successful weight loss is social support. Being part of a Belly Dance class can help provide that and increase the likelihood for successful weight reduction.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">Now, let\u2019s look at some other areas where Belly Dance is even more beneficial to the physical health of the individual. Belly Dance uses ALL the muscles in the body in a gentle and repetitive way. It extensively mobilizes many joints in the body. By regular practice of Belly Dance, all the muscles in the body become well toned. This does two things. It helps reduce back problems, arthritis, and it improves circulation and joint mobility. Unlike other types of exercise, which can actually hasten the onset of arthritis, the gentle nature of Belly Dance (critical for an aging population) can help slow or eliminate it.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">Another aspect of Belly Dance is that it results in muscles that are toned and fit. Exercise physiologists tell us that a fit muscle uses more energy than an unfit one. A person who is physically fit has a higher metabolism. A higher metabolism can help burn off calories, and burning calories can help with weight loss and contribute significantly to overall fitness, increases in strength, coordination, endurance and flexibility. Belly Dance, then, can be the cornerstone for a solid fitness program.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\">Is fitness fluff? We don\u2019t think so. If more people were to participate regularly in Belly Dance, we would, in fact, be able to reduce some problems that plague our society. We could reduce absenteeism from work, we could reduce visits to the doctor, we could reduce health care costs. We could see an increase in the quality of life and an increase in the life span. We might see a reduction in the numbers of people diagnosed with breast cancer, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Exercise is exercise. Whether it is Belly Dance or football, there are health benefits that have an impact beyond the individual. No. Belly Dance is not valueless. We should be encouraging more people to participate in it. Employers and insurance companies should be offering incentives for people to take Belly Dance classes. It would be beneficial all around.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before we decide whether this is valueless or \u201cfluffy\u201d let\u2019s take a look at some statistics about the population of the US where these courses are offered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17336,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"tags":[530],"club_category":[767,781],"class_list":["post-16207","club_article","type-club_article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-programing","club_category-club-articles","club_category-programing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why You Should Offer Belly Dance in Your Enrichment Programs - LERN Club<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why You Should Offer Belly Dance in Your Enrichment Programs - LERN Club\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Before we decide whether this is valueless or \u201cfluffy\u201d let\u2019s take a look at some statistics about the population of the US where these courses are offered.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LERN Club\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-01T20:58:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/img_bellydancer.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"394\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/\",\"name\":\"Why You Should Offer Belly Dance in Your Enrichment Programs - LERN Club\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/img_bellydancer.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-22T16:01:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-01T20:58:57+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/img_bellydancer.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/img_bellydancer.png\",\"width\":700,\"height\":394},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Club Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Why You Should Offer Belly Dance in Your Enrichment Programs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/\",\"name\":\"LERN Club\",\"description\":\"Information That Works!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why You Should Offer Belly Dance in Your Enrichment Programs - LERN Club","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why You Should Offer Belly Dance in Your Enrichment Programs - LERN Club","og_description":"Before we decide whether this is valueless or \u201cfluffy\u201d let\u2019s take a look at some statistics about the population of the US where these courses are offered.","og_url":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/","og_site_name":"LERN Club","article_modified_time":"2021-08-01T20:58:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":394,"url":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/img_bellydancer.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/","url":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/","name":"Why You Should Offer Belly Dance in Your Enrichment Programs - LERN Club","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/img_bellydancer.png","datePublished":"2019-10-22T16:01:20+00:00","dateModified":"2021-08-01T20:58:57+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/img_bellydancer.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/img_bellydancer.png","width":700,"height":394},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/why-you-should-offer-belly-dance-in-your-enrichment-programs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Club Articles","item":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/club_article\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Why You Should Offer Belly Dance in Your Enrichment Programs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/","name":"LERN Club","description":"Information That Works!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/club_article\/16207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/club_article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/club_article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/club_article\/16207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17413,"href":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/club_article\/16207\/revisions\/17413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16207"},{"taxonomy":"club_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lern.com\/lernclub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/club_category?post=16207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}