Yoga Promotes Weight Loss

By Dr. Weil's Daily Blog Monday, November 30, 2009 Your Health Today

It's not the poses or the stretching that works - instead, the mindfulness associated with yoga seems to promote weight loss and prevent gains. Four years ago, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that regular yoga practice may help prevent middle-aged spread in normal weight people and spur losses in the overweight. Now the same team has found that mindfulness, not just physical activity, makes the difference. Mindful eating means knowing why you eat and stopping when you're full (as opposed to eating when you're not hungry, when you're stressed and in response to cues such as advertising). The new study included more than 300 individuals from local yoga studios and other venues who reported on their activities, in and out of yoga class. All the participants filled out a Mindful Eating Questionnaire. Those with the highest mindfulness scores had lower BMIs (body mass index) than those with lower scores. The study was published in the August, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

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