Improve Body Mass and Blood Pressure with Yoga
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.
“Those practicing yoga who were overweight to start with lost about five pounds during the same time period those not practicing yoga gained 14 pounds.” – Alan Kristol
Obesity has become an epidemic in the industrialized world. In the U.S. the incidence of obesity, defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above has more than doubled over the last 35 years to currently around 35% of the population, while two thirds of the population are considered overweight or obese (BMI > 25). Although the incidence rates have appeared to stabilize, the fact that over a third of the population is considered obese is very troubling because of the health consequences of obesity. Obesity has been found to shorten life expectancy by eight years and extreme obesity by 14 years. This occurs because obesity is associated with cardiovascular problems such as coronary heart disease and hypertension, stroke, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and others.
Obviously, there is a need for effective treatments to prevent or treat obesity. But, despite copious research and a myriad of dietary and exercise programs, there still is no safe and effective treatment. Mindfulness is known to be associated with lower risk for obesity. Mindfulness has also been shown to make people more aware of eating and reduce intake. This suggests that mindfulness training may be an effective treatment for overeating and obesity. Yoga training involves both mindfulness and exercise. So, yoga training might be very effective in reducing body weight and improving cardiovascular health.
In today’s Research News article “Yoga Practice Improves the Body Mass Index and Blood Pressure: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” See summary below or view the full text of the study at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5433109/, Chauhan and colleagues recruited healthy adults who participated in a 1-month yoga camp, with 1 hour of yoga practice each day, and a no-treatment control group. Before and after the 1-month treatment period the participants were measured for body size and blood pressure.
They found that in comparison to baseline and the no-treatment control group, the yoga participants had a significant decrease in their Body Mass Index (BMI, weight divided by height squared, a standard measure of body size and overweight), and significant decreases in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Hence yoga practice resulted in improvements in body size and cardiovascular health.
These results suggest that yoga practice may be helpful in treating overweight and preventing obesity and the resultant cardiovascular problems. The study, however, compared a yoga group to a no-treatment group. So, potential confounding variables such as expectancy and attentional effects cannot be excluded as explanations. Future research studies should compare yoga practice to other exercise programs to establish if it’s the exercise contained in the yoga practice that is responsible for the benefits or something specific to yoga practice.
So, improve body mass and blood pressure with yoga.
“Yoga can control daily behaviors, produce self-awareness, boost personal growth and bring self-realization. This can help to improve eating patterns and promote self-control. Yoga has a promising effect in addressing a wide range of health conditions by stabilizing BMI.” – Minakshi Welukar
CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies
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Study Summary
Chauhan, A., Semwal, D. K., Mishra, S. P., & Semwal, R. B. (2017). Yoga Practice Improves the Body Mass Index and Blood Pressure: A Randomized Controlled Trial. International Journal of Yoga, 10(2), 103–106. http://doi.org/10.4103/ijoy.IJOY_46_16
Abstract
Background:
Yoga, an ancient Indian system of exercise and therapy is an art of good living or an integrated system for the benefit of the body, mind, and inner spirit. Regular practice of yoga can help to increase blood flow to the brain, reduce stress, have a calming effect on the nervous system, and greatly help in reducing hypertension.
Aim:
Aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of 1-month yoga practice on body mass index (BMI), and blood pressure (BP).
Materials and Methods:
The present study was conducted to determine the effect of yoga practice on 64 participants (age 53.6 ± 13.1 years) (experimental group) whereas the results were compared with 26 healthy volunteers (control group). We examined the effects of yoga on physiological parameters in a 1-month pilot study. Most of the participants were learner and practiced yoga for 1 h daily in the morning for 1 month. BMI and BP (systolic and diastolic) were studied before and after 1 month of yoga practice.
Results:
Yoga practice causes decreased BMI (26.4 ± 2.5–25.22 ± 2.4), systolic BP (136.9 ± 22.18 mmHg to 133 ± 21.38 mmHg), and diastolic BP (84.7 ± 6.5 mmHg to 82.34 ± 7.6 mmHg). On the other hand, no significant changes were observed in BMI and BP of control group.
Conclusion:
This study concludes that yoga practice has potential to control BMI and BP without taking any medication.