News release

From: PLOS

Yoga practice could reduce blood pressure in people with obesity

A new meta-analysis of 30 studies shows that yoga reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure

Practicing yoga could help people with overweight or obesity improve their cardiometabolic health, according to a study published April 22 in the open-access journal PLOS Public Health by Widya Wasityastuti from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and colleagues.

Yoga is a popular form of exercise around the world, and is a gentle and accessible form of exercise for many people. To better understand the potential health benefits of yoga, the authors of this study performed a meta-analysis, examining 30 studies of yoga for its cardiometabolic benefits. They focused on studies which examined outcomes for blood pressure, lipid profiles, glucose homeostasis, markers of inflammation, and measures of antioxidants, and those which examined people with body-mass index over 23 for Asian countries, and 25 for other countries, indicating that participants had overweight or obesity. Of the 30 studies considered, 23 were conducted in Asian countries, while the remaining studies were from the United States, Germany, and Australia.

Across the 30 studies and a total of 2,689 participants, the authors found that people who practiced yoga had a significant decrease in blood pressure, with systolic blood pressure lowered by an average of 4.35 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 2.06 mmHg. They also found modest beneficial effects on low- and high-density lipoproteins, types of cholesterol that have been linked to an increased risk of stroke.

The authors note that the studies analyzed were not specifically recruiting people with obesity, and there was no dose-response measured, so it is unknown how much yoga is needed to produce these effects, though the studies they analyzed favored practice of at least 180 minutes per week. The studies also focused heavily on Asian participants, and practitioners with comorbidities were excluded from analysis. Finally, it’s important to note that due to the nature of this study, causality cannot be confirmed here despite the correlations found. Further studies will be needed to understand whether yoga can provide similar benefits to other populations, as well as people with co-morbidities such as diabetes or heart disease. The authors suggest that while more high-quality trials are needed, the meta-analysis supports potential benefits of yoga for cardiometabolic health in people with overweight and obesity.

The authors summarize: “Our review suggests that yoga may offer a helpful additional option for improving some aspects of cardiometabolic health in adults with overweight or obesity, particularly blood pressure.”

They add: “Yoga is often seen mainly as a wellbeing practice, but our findings suggest it may also support certain cardiometabolic health outcomes in adults with overweight or obesity.”