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YOGA AND MEDITATION IN ADDITION TO A LOW-FAT DIET AND EXERCISE MAY HELP REDUCE WEIGHT AND CARDIAC RISK | |
| Contact: Jennifer Daubenmier, Ph.D Phone: 415-332-2525 ext. 287 Email: Jennifer.daubenmier@pmri.org Embargoed until: March 3, 2005 |
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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Could yoga and meditation add to the benefits of a low-fat diet and exercise as a way to lose weight and reduce the risk of heart disease? Researchers at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, CA, found that yoga and meditation may improve the effectiveness of the tried and true approaches of a low-fat diet and moderate exercise. "People who regularly practiced yoga and meditation, ate a low-fat diet and exercised lost more weight than those who ate a low-fat diet, exercised, but did less yoga and meditation," says the study's lead author, Dr. Jennifer Daubenmier, who will present these results at the American Psychosomatic Society Annual Meeting on March 4 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The daily practice of yoga and meditation was one component of a community-based comprehensive lifestyle change program, The Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease. The program also included a plant-based diet, which was low in fat and simple carbohydrates and high in complex carbohydrates, as well as moderate exercise and group support. More than 1,200 men and women in several parts of the country who had coronary heart disease or were at risk participated in the study. After only 12 weeks, significant improvements were found in both biomedical markers and psychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease. These improvements included a 12-pound reduction in weight, increased exercise capacity, reduced diastolic and systolic blood pressure, substantial decreases in total and LDL cholesterol, and diminished symptoms of depression and hostility. It is well known that diet and exercise are important factors in losing weight, but one of the surprises of the study was that yoga and meditation may contribute to even more weight loss and reduced risk of coronary heart disease, Daubenmier said. How could meditating and doing yoga lead to weight loss? Daubenmier's prior research suggests that yoga practice may increase responsiveness to bodily cues, such as not eating when full. That study is soon to be published in the American Psychological Association's Psychology of Women Quarterly. In addition, other research has shown that the stress-induced hormone, cortisol, is related to greater abdominal fat. Managing stress through yoga and meditation may reduce the secretion of cortisol, thereby decreasing excess fat around the stomach. The question still remains whether practicing yoga and meditation can reduce weight, or whether such practice is simply associated with other factors affecting weight loss. More research is needed to understand how these stress reduction practices might influence weight loss. This program is currently offered by Highmark, of Pittsburgh, PA at 14 hospital sites in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For more information, please call 1-800-879-2217. | |
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Psychosomatic Medicine is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Psychosomatic Society, published bimonthly. For information about the journal, contact Vicki White, Managing Editor for Manuscript Production,
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