A new study which was presented at the American Heart Association's 46th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, investigated the effects of practicing yoga on the BMI (body mass index) of teenage study participants. A scientist from Hampton University (Virginia) conducted either a forty minute yoga and breathing class or regular activities (which served as the control group), to thirty teenage boys and girls.
The yoga group did about forty minutes of yoga and yoga breathing 4 times per week for a period of twelve weeks. The teenagers' dietary intake was not modified. The scientists measured their body mass index both at the beginning, and at the conclusion of the study.
The scientists discoevered that the body mass index of the yoga group decreased by about 5.7 percent, while the body mass index of the control group actually increased slightly. The mean body weight loss for the yoga group was about six pounds. There were no restrictions or rules regarding caloric intake on either of the groups. The weight loss in the yoga group may be due to a couple of factors: the breathing and yoga exercises themselves, and possibly lowered caloric intake by the yoga group due to a decrease in stomach size.
Dr. Shetty, the author of the study, has recommended about half an hour of yoga and yoga breathing (pranayama) 3 or 4 times per week. He is of the opinion that practicing yoga can be effective at helping to prevent obesity in teenagers and should be an integral component of physical eduction programs in schools.
More information at the Journal of Yoga & Physical Therapy.
I have read your blog. Your blog is good. Yoga is very helpful for people. People can live healthy. If they use yoga technique regularly....
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