The holidays are here and it is party time.The health clubs are  doing promotions in various ways . One is by throwing Zumba parties. Zumba is a very popular form of fitness program , created by Columbian dancer and choreographer , Alberto “Beto” Perez during the 1990’s .Its a dance and aerobic movement performed to energetic music with a Mish  mash of  Hip Hop , Soca , Samba ,Merengue and Mambo as the dance forms.Currently around 15 million people in over 200,000 locations in around 180 countries are doing it .

Dance is an excellent form of art which besides being therapeutic at the emotional level holds a promise of an improved physical form and it tries to keep away  one of the biggest menace of the 21st century “Obesity” 

Obesity  is a gift of this century secondary to spreading affluence ,sedentary life style  , processed high calorie food , more red meat  to name a few .Current Obesity rate ranges between 20 to 35 percent in the US .Obesity has led to more than 120,000 preventable deaths each year in the US and an  obese person incurs  $ 1429 dollars more in medical expense than leaner people .

There is some good news too . National Childhood Obesity rate has leveled off and rise in adult Obesity  is beginning to slow off due to all the proactive measures being adopted by concerned people.

In our society , it has been found out by the experts that interaction over food is the single most feature of socializing .Dancing besides giving you a leaner ,meaner look makes you interact socially .As a member of the community , the social interaction is  at the multiple level , when you dance .

As we enter the new year ,as a small positive change ,we should look into other forms of social interaction besides over food .I am sure  it would reap its benefits in all tangible and intangible forms.