Managing Metabolic Syndrome through Yoga Practice
In a new study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, researchers from the University of Hong Kong investigate the impact of yoga on individuals with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure. The study led by Dr. Parco M. Siu reveals that a 1-year yoga training program decreases proinflammatory adipokines, benefits cardiometabolic health, and increases anti-inflammatory adipokines.
Metabolic syndrome, a condition associated with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, is estimated to affect approximately 48% of the adult population in the United States. Previous research by Dr. Siu and his colleagues indicated that 1-year yoga practice led to lower blood pressure and a smaller waist circumference. In the new study, the researchers examined the effect of a 1-year yoga program on metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure.
The study randomly assigned 97 participants to a control group or a yoga group. Participants in the control group were monitored monthly, while those in the yoga group underwent three 1-hour yoga sessions each week. The researchers tracked the patients' sera for adipokines, signaling proteins released by adipose tissue, which can trigger an inflammatory or anti-inflammatory response.
According to the study, 1-year yoga training decreased proinflammatory adipokines and increased anti-inflammatory adipokines in adults with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure. The researchers suggest that these findings support yoga's beneficial role in managing metabolic syndrome by favorably modulating adipokines.
Dr. Siu comments on the study's results, stating that they help reveal the response of adipokines to long-term yoga exercise, underlining the importance of regular exercise for human health. The findings suggest that yoga could serve as a helpful lifestyle intervention in reducing inflammation and managing symptoms for those with metabolic syndrome.
The research suggests potential benefits for yoga in reducing inflammation, positively influencing adipokine profiles, and improving metabolic health and blood pressure, although specific studies on a 1-year yoga program may be limited. Further research would be necessary to determine the exact effects of such a program.
Yoga, as part of a long-term exercise routine, may play a significant role in managing metabolic syndrome, particularly by decreasing proinflammatory adipokines and increasing anti-inflammatory adipokines, as revealed in a study by Dr. Siu and his colleagues. This research, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, also highlights the potential benefits of yoga for individuals with high-normal blood pressure, as it can benefit cardiometabolic health and favorably modulate adipokines. Scientific investigations into the effects of yoga on metabolic disorders, chronic diseases, and medical conditions like type-2 diabetes, and its role in health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and nutrition, are of growing interest.
