Researchers find overweight people in their 50's, who practice yoga regularly, lose about five pounds over 10 years, while a group in the same age range, who doesn't practice yoga, gained 13 1/2 pounds over the same period.
Alan Kristal, one of the researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, thinks yoga helps keep people in tune with their bodies and proper eating habits, and makes them aware of bad habits, like stress-related eating, boredom or depression.
Researchers collected data from 1,500 people, between the ages of 53 and 57, who were asked about their exercise, weight, health and diet histories. The findings show those who practiced yoga tended to avoid junk food and overeating because they wanted to respect their bodies.
Findings were published in the July/August issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.
Gary Miller, who studies obesity and weight loss at Wake Forest University, calls the research encouraging, but adds it is difficult to prove a direct influence from a single study.
