Body composition and dairy intake in sedentary employees who participated in a healthy program based on nutrition education and Zumba

Summary Background & aims The dairy intake is associated with body composition; however, its effect is controversial and remains unknown in relation to exercise interventions as Zumba Fitness ® . Thus, we analyzed the body composition and its relation to dairy intake in sedentary employees who participated in a healthy program based on nutrition education and Zumba Fitness ® . Methods Sixty-nine sedentary employees (age = 38.41 ± 7.45-yr, 81.16% women) participated in a healthy program (16-weeks) based on nutrition education (2 sessions, 1st and 10th week) and Zumba Fitness ® (ZF) exercise programs [2 interventions: a) ZF, 1 h of ZF/3 day/week; b) ZF + BW, 1 h of ZF/3 day/week plus 20 min of bodyweight training]. Body composition (body weight, height, BMI, waist-hip index, ∑6-skinfolds, fat mass and muscle mass), blood pressure and dairy intake (milk, yogurt and cheese) were assessed at baseline and after interventions. Participants were categorized into normal weight (NW, BMI = 18.5–24.9 Kg/m 2 ) and excess weight (EW, BMI ≥ 25 Kg/m 2 ). Dairy intake and changes in BMI (ΔBMI = BMI after intervention-BMI at baseline) were divided into tertiles (T). Results Only muscle mass (Kg) differed between ZF and ZF + BW (baseline and 16-weeks). Anthropometric indicators of adiposity were lower in NW than EW group (baseline). The ∑6-skinfolds and fat-mass decreased, while muscle mass increased in ZF and ZF + BW, and in NW and EW groups (16-weeks). The most consumed dairy was milk (baseline). Participants of T1 of cheese intake (baseline) had a higher reduction in BMI (0.42 ± 0.56 vs 0.62 ± 1.42 Kg/m 2 ) and in ∑6-skinfolds (40.23 ± 13.13 vs 23.51 ± 10.84 mm) than individuals in T3 (16-weeks). Employees who presented higher weight loss (T3, BMI decrease > 0.50 Kg/m 2 ) consumed lower cheese than the weight gain group (T1, BMI increase ≥ 0.33 Kg/m 2 ) (baseline). Conclusions Healthy programs based on nutrition education and Zumba Fitness ® improve body composition both in EW and NW sedentary employees. ZF is as effective as ZF + BW. A lower cheese intake, at baseline, but not milk or yogurt, was related to a weight loss.