Regular Yoga Practice Associated with Mindful Eating

Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, which may help ward off obesity and lead to longer, more fulfilling lives, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

The study was a follow-up to initial findings reported four years ago by Alan Kristal, PhD, and colleagues, who found that regular yoga practice may help prevent middle-age spread in normal-weight people and may promote weight loss in those who are overweight. At the time, they suspected the weight-loss effect had more to do with increased body awareness, specifically a sensitivity to hunger and satiety than the physical activity of yoga practice itself.

In the new study, researchers found that people who ate mindfully—those were aware of why they ate and stopped eating when full—weighed less than those who ate mindlessly, who ate when not hungry or in response to anxiety or depression. They also found a strong association between yoga practice and mindful eating, but found no association between other types of physical activity, such as walking or running, and mindful eating.

"These findings fit with our hypothesis that yoga increases mindfulness in eating and leads to less weight gain over time, independent of the physical activity aspect of yoga practice," said Kristal.