Yoga as a method for controlling metabolic syndrome conditions
In the Western world, yoga enthusiasts, or as they're more commonly known, "yogis," are always yammering about how yoga is amazing for the body and mind. But is there any scientific backing to their claims? A recent study dives deep, focusing on how yoga affects individuals with metabolic syndrome.
Over here at Medical News Today, we've been buzzing about many studies suggesting that yoga has numerous health benefits, such as improving brain health and cognition, managing thyroid issues, and providing relief from depression symptoms. Yoga has even been touted as a possible remedy for prostate enlargement and erectile dysfunction in men, and a means of helping those with diabetes better manage their symptoms.
However, most of these studies are observational, so they can't definitively establish causality, and few have delved into the mechanisms behind the findings.
A study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports set out to investigate these mysteries. Led by Dr. Parco M. Siu from the University of Hong Kong in China, the study aimed to uncover the effect of yoga on cardiometabolic health in individuals with metabolic syndrome.
The findings were twofold: first, that yoga offers benefits to those with metabolic syndrome, and second, it revealed the mechanisms behind those benefits.
Decreasing inflammation
Metabolic syndrome is often linked to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. In the United States, it's estimated that roughly half of the adult population suffers from this condition.
Prior research conducted by Dr. Siu and his team revealed lower blood pressure and a smaller waist circumference among individuals who practiced yoga for a year. Intrigued by these findings, they decided to delve deeper and examine the impact of a year of yoga on people with metabolic syndrome.
To accomplish this, the researchers randomly assigned 97 participants with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure to either a control group or a yoga group. Participants in the control group received no intervention, while those in the yoga group undertook a yoga training program with three 1-hour sessions each week for a year.
The scientists also examined the patients' blood samples for adipokines, or signaling proteins released by fat tissue that instruct the immune system to release either an inflammatory or anti-inflammatory response.
The study authors sum up their findings, saying, "[The] results demonstrated that 1-year yoga training decreased pro-inflammatory adipokines and increased anti-inflammatory adipokine in adults with [metabolic syndrome] and high-normal blood pressure."
"These findings support the beneficial role of yoga in managing [metabolic syndrome] by favorably modulating adipokines," add the researchers. The results suggest that yoga could be a valuable lifestyle intervention for decreasing inflammation and helping individuals with metabolic syndrome manage their symptoms.
Dr. Siu also offered some thoughts on the study's findings, stating, "These findings help to reveal the response of adipokines to long-term yoga exercise, which underpins the importance of regular exercise to human health."
- Intriguingly, a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports delved into the mechanisms behind the benefits of yoga for individuals with metabolic syndrome.
- The study led by Dr. Parco M. Siu from the University of Hong Kong found that a year of yoga training decreased pro-inflammatory adipokines and increased anti-inflammatory adipokines in adults with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure.
- These findings support the beneficial role of yoga in managing metabolic syndrome by favorably modulating adipokines, which are signaling proteins associated with inflammation.
- As a result, yoga could potentially be a valuable lifestyle intervention for decreasing inflammation and helping individuals with metabolic syndrome better manage their symptoms.
