IT is the Latin-inspired fitness craze taking dance floors by storm.

Now Zumba enthusiasts are urging Southampton residents to join the party while stomping out the legacy of chronic illnesses prematurely claiming the lives of thousands of people in the city.

Participants at yesterday’s lunchtime class at the DM Dance Centre in Portswood, backed the Daily Echo’s Staying Alive campaign which urges people to embrace a fitter and healthier lifestyle and diet.

We launched the campaign after revealing that 13,000 Hampshire residents died early from the four “major killers”, cancer, heart disease and stroke, lung disease and liver disease, between 2009 and 2011.

Zumba harnesses aerobics with South American styles such as samba, salsa, meringue and mambo, plus hip-hop, Bollywood and belly-dancing.

Dancers burn up to 1,000 calories in a one-hour session.

DM Dance Centre instructor and partner Hayley Diment hosts five lessons each week at the Spring Road centre.

She said: “The music really captures people’s attention and the moves are very catchy and easy to learn.

“The younger ones tend to go wild while the older ones take it a little easier but you really get your sweat on.”

Praising the Daily Echo campaign, she said: “It’s really great to be promoting healthy lifestyles – it’s what Southampton needs.

“People think they need to diet but it’s combining it with exercise too.”

Her parents, Christine and Philip, launched the dance school 38 years ago and they have witnessed a recent surge in attendance which they put down to the success of BBC1 show Strictly Come Dancing.

Ballroom, jive, salsa, tango, swing and street dance are among the styles they teach.

Contact 023 8055 4192 or see dmdancecentre.co.uk for a full list of times.