Yoga and weight control : A scientific study.

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Source:Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research

CenterDate:2005-07-21URL:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/07/0507200643\

58.htm

 

Regular Yoga Practice May Help Prevent Middle-age Spread

SEATTLE -- A new study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research

Center has found that regular yoga practice may help prevent middle-age spread

in normal-weight people and may promote weight loss in those who are overweight.

 

The study -- the first of its kind to measure the effects of yoga on weight --

appears in the July/August issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and

Medicine.

 

Funded by the National Cancer Institute, the study involved 15,500 healthy,

middle-aged men and women who were asked to complete a written survey recalling

their physical activity (including yoga) and weight history between the ages 45

and 55. The study measured the impact of yoga with weight change, independent of

other factors such as diet or other types of physical activity.

 

The researchers found that between the ages of 45 and 55, most people gained

about a pound a year, which is a common pattern as people age and do not adjust

their caloric intake to their declining energy needs. "However, men and women

who were of normal weight at age 45 and regularly practiced yoga gained about 3

fewer pounds during that 10-year period than those who didn't practice yoga,"

said Alan R. Kristal, Dr.P.H., the study's lead author. For the study, regular

yoga practice was defined as practicing at least 30 minutes once a week for four

or more years.

 

But the researchers noted the greatest effect of regular yoga practice was among

people who were overweight. "Men and women who were overweight and practiced

yoga lost about 5 pounds, while those who did not practice yoga gained about 14

pounds in that 10-year period," said Kristal, a member of the Hutchinson

Center's Public Health Sciences Division and a professor of epidemiology at the

University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine.

 

What accounts for yoga's apparent fat-fighting potential? Kristal, himself a

longtime yoga student, suspects it has more to do with increased body awareness

than the physical activity itself.

 

"During a very vigorous yoga practice you can burn enough calories to lose

weight, but most people don't practice that kind of yoga," he said. "From my

experience, I think it has to do with the way that yoga makes you more aware of

your body. So when you've eaten enough food, you're sensitive to the feeling of

being full, and this makes it much easier to stop eating before you've eaten too

much."

 

Study co-author Denise Benitez, owner of Seattle Yoga Arts, agrees. "Most people

practice yoga in a way that's not aerobic enough to burn a lot of calories, so

it has to be some other reason."

 

One reason, she speculates, could be that yoga cultivates a form of gentle inner

strength. "When we practice yoga, although it may look easy, there is some mild

discomfort. You bring your body to a physical edge that's just a little bit

challenging. And people who regularly practice yoga develop the inner resources

to stay with a little bit of discomfort. They develop a softness inside and an

ability to stay mindful. So that when you go home after yoga class and open up

the fridge and see a chocolate cake, you have the resources to stay with the

discomfort of not eating that chocolate cake."

 

Whatever the reason behind the apparent impact of yoga on weight maintenance and

loss, Kristal stresses that these findings need to be replicated.

 

"I think it's time now to do a carefully controlled, randomized clinical trial

to see if adding yoga to a standard weight-loss program can help people lose

more weight or keep it off longer. The other message, particularly to people who

might be overweight, is that yoga is a noncompetitive activity. It's something

that everybody can do. It brings so many benefits, and if one of the clinical

benefits is that it can help you control your weight, then that's a great

thing."

 

The participants in the yoga study were part of a larger ongoing Hutchinson

Center study involving more than 75,000 residents of western Washington called

the Vitamins and Lifestyle, or VITAL, study. This $4.2 million project, which

began in 2000, aims to determine whether vitamin, mineral or herbal supplements

reduce the risk of cancer.

 

 

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SIDEBAR

YOGA TIPS THAT MAY ENCOURAGE WEIGHT MAINTENANCE OR LOSS

 

Study co-author and yoga teacher Denise Benitez, owner of Seattle Yoga Arts,

offers the following suggestions for enhancing one's yoga practice. These tips

may be particularly helpful for those who wish to maintain or lose weight:

1. Practice in a room without mirrors, and pay more attention to your internal

experience than to your outer performance.

2. Learn to feel sensations more and more subtly, so that you become deeply

involved in and curious about small movements, sometimes called micro-movements.

 

3. In your poses, find an edge for yourself where you are challenged but not

overwhelmed. At this edge, practice maintaining a clear, open and accepting

mental state.

 

4. Give yourself permission to rest when you feel overworked.

 

5. Pay close attention to what you are saying to yourself as you practice, and

make an intentional effort to appreciate your own efforts and innate goodness.

 

6. Go to class faithfully, arrive early, and talk to a few people in your class

before class begins.

 

7. Buy your own yoga mat and bring it to class.

 

8. Realize that the development of qualities like patience, discipline, wisdom,

right effort, kindness, gratitude and many others will arise from your yoga

practice. These qualities create a steady and soft mind.

 

9. Find a teacher who offers a balance of gentleness and firmness and whose

teaching inspires you to practice from your highest self.

 

10. Recognize that simply attending class is a major statement of courage,

self-care, and positive momentum. Realize that you are inspiring others as you

become more true to your deepest desires.

 

 

 

At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams of

world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent, diagnose

and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers, including three

Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for health, knowledge

and hope to their work and to the world. For more information, please visit

fhcrc.org.

 

 

 

This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Fred Hutchinson Cancer

Research Center.