The Effects of Gaziantep Region Folk Dances Training on The Body Composition and Physical Fitness of University Students

The main objective of this research is to determine the link between Turkish Folk Dance and changes it causes to the human body composition. The research has been conducted by analysing the changes 60 participants (who were studying in 2015-2016 in K？r？kkale University students), experienced as a result taking part in folk dance activities originating from Gaziantep Region. For the purpose of the experiment the participants were split in to two groups. The first group was referred to as ‘’Experimental Group’’ and second group referred to as ‘’Control Group’’. The experiment commenced by providing a twelve week training session to the experimental group and comparing the changes in their body Composition to those in the control group who weren’t given the training. Measurements of the participants were taken before and after their lessons. The measurements taken included height, body weight, body fat, strength, stamina, and flexibility. The statistical analysis was obtained using SPSS 16.0 windows programme. To test the significance of the results the p value used is 0.05. Participants in the experimental group(n=30) had an average age of 20.43±1.1, control group (n=30) had an average age of 20.87±1.0. The participants in the experimental group had an average height of 171.67±9.5 cm, in comparison to the control group 17.07± 8.6 cm. In relation to the participants weight the experimental group had an average of 63.973±10.5 kg. Gaziantep Folk Dance students completed thirty six sessions with a duration of ninety minutes each session over a twelve week period. The results showed a decrease in body fat and weight. However an increase in flexibility, stamina and strength. These results were all statistically significant, as the p value was below the threshold of 0.05. Nutritional and diet programs can be applied by applying folk dances. So the effects of nutrition can be exammed. In branches which the body fat ratio is important this study can be applied as a training