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Obesity Yoga strongly helps overweight women in weight loss
Yoga is usually associated with slender, athletic individuals. But the relaxation exercises of this ancient Indian philosophical doctrine can basically be practiced by anyone. Of course, also of very overweight women - yoga helps them lose weight, scientists report.
Strong overweight endangers the health
More and more Germans are obese. In the year before last alone, about seven million Germans had to be treated for obesity. Heavy obesity is a risk factor for many diseases, such as vascular and cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease or arteriosclerosis (arteriosclerosis). It also increases the risk of joint wear and tear (arthritis), diabetes, and cancer.
Yoga is not only ideal for slim people to reduce stress. Overweight women can benefit even more. With them yoga can also help you lose weight. (Image: Alena Ozerova / fotolia.com) Reduce weight with more exercise
According to health experts, even a minimal weight reduction would have significant positive effects. In addition to a healthy, low-calorie and low-fat diet, sport would be very helpful here. This not only burns calories, but also eliminates the constant hunger, British researchers recently reported. Obviously, obese people can use yoga to reduce their weight.
Yoga helps obese people lose weight
It is not only people who practice relaxation techniques who know that yoga can have positive effects on the body. The health-promoting effect could already be proven in scientific studies.
Researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen now report in the "Deutsches Ärzteblatt" that yoga can help women with central obesity lose weight.
Recommendations are not respected by all concerned
"Especially central obesity, an unfavorable abdominal fat distribution that is not limited to obese individuals, has proven to be a significant risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases," said the researchers.
According to the experts, regular physical activity is recommended in the medical guidelines as the main treatment option for obesity. "However, because a significant proportion of obese individuals do not comply with these recommendations, the study of alternative forms of exercise for weight loss seems warranted."
"One such alternative form of exercise, which is increasingly being used to promote good health, is yoga."
Diet according to traditional yoga teachings
In the study, 60 subjects with central obesity were divided into two groups. Forty of them should take part in a 12-week yoga intervention, while others, as a waiting group, should not change their exercise habits. The age of the participants was on average 48 years.
As the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reports, the yoga sessions adapted to the physical capabilities and limitations of obese women included full-day workshops, followed by two weekly 90-minute sessions in traditional hatha yoga.
The subjects were also encouraged to follow traditional yoga teachings. However, according to the researchers, no participant started a calorie-restricted diet during the study period.
Waist circumference has been reduced
According to the information, the 40 participants managed to reduce their waist circumference by about four centimeters. In addition, compared to the control group, their waist-to-hip ratio, body weight, BMI and body fat percentage have also decreased while their body mass mass has increased.
The participants also stated that their mental and physical quality of life and self-esteem had improved. According to the team around Holger Cramer, yoga was perceived by the subjects as stress reduction.
Exercise in obesity basically beneficial
Stefanie Gerlach from the German Obesity Society commented on the results in the FAZ: "Exercise is fundamentally beneficial in obesity" and is part of the classic anti-obesity therapies.
"Trying out new forms of exercise that are not primarily performance-oriented can provide new, positive body experiences, especially in overweight individuals. So I would invite everyone to try yoga for themselves, especially as the study obviously had no harmful effects. "
Long-term successes not yet proven
The investigation has according to FAZ but also gaps. The participants of both groups could therefore not be continuously monitored. In addition, the mandatory dietary change in obesity was not implemented. According to Gerlach, in such a short study, it is not possible to say definitively whether the observed effects on the abdominal girth will last for long. (Ad)