1 2333 96 TWELVE-MINUTE DAILY YOGA REGIMEN REVERSES OSTEOPOROTIC BONE LOSS. OBJECTIVE: ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SELECTED YOGA POSTURES IN RAISING BONE MINERAL DENSITY (BMD). METHODS: TEN-YEAR STUDY OF 741 INTERNET-RECRUITED VOLUNTEERS COMPARING PREYOGA BMD CHANGES WITH POSTYOGA BMD CHANGES. OUTCOME MEASURES: DUAL-ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRIC SCANS. OPTIONAL RADIOGRAPHS OF HIPS AND SPINE AND BONE QUALITY STUDY (7 TESLA). RESULTS: BONE MINERAL DENSITY IMPROVED IN SPINE, HIPS, AND FEMUR OF THE 227 MODERATELY AND FULLY COMPLIANT PATIENTS. MONTHLY GAIN IN BMD WAS SIGNIFICANT IN SPINE (0.0029 G/CM(2), P = .005) AND FEMUR (0.00022 G/CM(2), P = .053), BUT IN 1 COHORT, ALTHOUGH MEAN GAIN IN HIP BMD WAS 50%, LARGE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES RAISED THE CONFIDENCE INTERVAL AND THE GAIN WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT FOR TOTAL HIP (0.000357 G/CM(2)). NO YOGA-RELATED SERIOUS INJURIES WERE IMAGED OR REPORTED. BONE QUALITY APPEARED QUALITATIVELY IMPROVED IN YOGA PRACTITIONERS. CONCLUSION: YOGA APPEARS TO RAISE BMD IN THE SPINE AND THE FEMUR SAFELY. 2016 2 968 34 EFFECTS OF AN 8-MONTH ASHTANGA-BASED YOGA INTERVENTION ON BONE METABOLISM IN MIDDLE-AGED PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY. ALTHOUGH YOGA HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE AN ALTERNATIVE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO ENHANCE BONE HEALTH, THERE IS A LACK OF HIGH QUALITY EVIDENCE FOR THIS TYPE OF INTERVENTION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WAS TO EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF A PROGRESSIVE 8-MONTH ASHTANGA-BASED YOGA PROGRAM ON BONE TURNOVER MARKERS (BTM), AREAL BONE MINERAL DENSITY (ABMD) AND VOLUMETRIC BONE CHARACTERISTICS IN PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. THIRTY-FOUR PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN (35-50 YEARS) WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED EITHER TO A YOGA GROUP (YE, N = 16) OR A CONTROL GROUP (CON, N = 18). PARTICIPANTS IN YE GROUP PERFORMED 60 MINUTES OF AN ASHTANGA-BASED YOGA SERIES 2 TIMES/WEEK WITH ONE DAY BETWEEN SESSIONS FOR 8 MONTHS, AND THE SESSION INTENSITY WAS PROGRESSIVELY INCREASED BY ADDING THE NUMBER OF SUN SALUTATIONS (SS). PARTICIPANTS IN CON WERE ENCOURAGED TO MAINTAIN THEIR NORMAL DAILY LIFESTYLES MONITORED BY THE BONE SPECIFIC PHYSICAL ACTIVITY QUESTIONNAIRE (BPAQ) AT 2 MONTH INTERVALS FOR 8 MONTHS. BODY COMPOSITION WAS MEASURED BY DUAL ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY (DXA). BONE FORMATION (BONE ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE, BONE ALP) AND BONE RESORPTION (TARTRATE-RESISTANT ACID PHOSPHATASE-5B, TRAP5B) MARKERS WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND AFTER 8 MONTHS. ABMD OF TOTAL BODY, LUMBAR SPINE AND DUAL PROXIMAL FEMUR AND TIBIA BONE CHARACTERISTICS WERE MEASURED USING DXA AND PERIPHERAL QUANTITATIVE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (PQCT), RESPECTIVELY. WE FOUND THAT THE SERUM BONE ALP CONCENTRATIONS WERE MAINTAINED IN YE, BUT SIGNIFICANTLY (P = 0.005) DECREASED IN CON AFTER THE 8 MONTH INTERVENTION, AND THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT (P = 0.002) GROUP DIFFERENCES IN BONE ALP PERCENT CHANGES (YE 9.1 +/- 4.0% VS. CON -7.1 +/- 2.3%). NO CHANGES IN TRAP5B WERE FOUND IN EITHER GROUP. THE 8-MONTH YOGA PROGRAM DID NOT INCREASE ABMD OR TIBIA BONE STRENGTH VARIABLES. BODY COMPOSITION RESULTS SHOWED NO CHANGES IN WEIGHT, FAT MASS, OR % FAT, BUT SMALL SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN BONE FREE LEAN BODY MASS OCCURRED IN BOTH GROUPS. THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT REGULAR LONG-TERM ASHTANGA YOGA HAD A SMALL POSITIVE EFFECT ON BONE FORMATION BUT DID NOT ALTER ABMD OR TIBIA BONE CHARACTERISTICS IN PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. KEY POINTSREGULAR LONG-TERM ASHTANGA-BASED YOGA PROGRAM HAD A SMALL POSITIVE EFFECT ON BONE FORMATION, BUT NO EFFECTS WERE FOUND ON BONE RESORPTION.NONE OF THE BONE DENSITY OR GEOMETRY VARIABLES WERE CHANGED BY THE 8-MONTH ASHTANGA-BASED YOGA INTERVENTION.FUTURE YOGA INTERVENTIONS SHOULD FOCUS ON LONGER DURATION AND GREATER FREQUENCY TO ELICIT IMPROVEMENTS IN BONE MINERAL DENSITY. 2015 3 1092 18 EFFECTS OF YOGA ON UTERO-FETAL-PLACENTAL CIRCULATION IN HIGH-RISK PREGNANCY: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL. INTRODUCTION. IMPAIRED PLACENTATION AND INADEQUATE TROPHOBLAST INVASION HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE ETIOLOGY OF MANY PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS AND HAVE BEEN CORRELATED WITH THE FIRST TRIMESTER UTERINE ARTERY RESISTANCE. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THE BENEFITS OF YOGA IN IMPROVING PREGNANCY OUTCOMES AND THOSE OF YOGIC VISUALIZATION IN REVITALIZING THE HUMAN TISSUES. METHODS. 59 HIGH-RISK PREGNANT WOMEN WERE RANDOMIZED INTO YOGA (N = 27) AND CONTROL (N = 32) GROUPS. THE YOGA GROUP RECEIVED STANDARD CARE PLUS YOGA SESSIONS (1 HOUR/DAY, 3 TIMES/WEEK), FROM 12TH TO 28TH WEEK OF GESTATION. THE CONTROL GROUP RECEIVED STANDARD CARE PLUS CONVENTIONAL ANTENATAL EXERCISES (WALKING). MEASUREMENTS WERE ASSESSED AT 12TH, 20TH, AND 28TH WEEKS OF GESTATION. RESULTS. RM-ANOVA SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER VALUES IN THE YOGA GROUP (28TH WEEK) FOR BIPARIETAL DIAMETER (P = 0.001), HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE (P = 0.002), FEMUR LENGTH (P = 0.005), AND ESTIMATED FETAL WEIGHT (P = 0.019). THE RESISTANCE INDEX IN THE RIGHT UTERINE ARTERY (P = 0.01), UMBILICAL ARTERY (P = 0.011), AND FETAL MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERY (P = 0.048) SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IMPEDANCE IN THE YOGA GROUP. CONCLUSION. THE RESULTS OF THIS FIRST RANDOMIZED STUDY OF YOGA IN HIGH-RISK PREGNANCY SUGGEST THAT GUIDED YOGIC PRACTICES AND VISUALIZATION CAN IMPROVE THE INTRAUTERINE FETAL GROWTH AND THE UTERO-FETAL-PLACENTAL CIRCULATION. 2015 4 969 24 EFFECTS OF AN 8-MONTH YOGA INTERVENTION ON ARTERIAL COMPLIANCE AND MUSCLE STRENGTH IN PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE INDICATED THAT YOGA EXERCISE HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON REDUCING BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE. HOWEVER, NO RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDIES TO DATE HAVE INVESTIGATED ITS EFFECTS ON ARTERIAL COMPLIANCE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF AN 8-MONTH YOGA INTERVENTION ON ARTERIAL COMPLIANCE AND MUSCLE STRENGTH IN NORMAL PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN 35-50 YEARS OF AGE. THIRTY-FOUR WOMEN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED EITHER TO A YOGA EXERCISE GROUP (YE, N = 16) OR A CONTROL GROUP (CON, N = 18). PARTICIPANTS IN YE GROUP PERFORMED 60 MINUTES OF AN ASHTANGA YOGA SERIES 2 TIMES/WEEK WITH ONE DAY BETWEEN SESSIONS FOR 8 MONTHS. EACH YOGA SESSION CONSISTED OF 15 MINUTES OF WARM-UP EXERCISES, 35 MINUTES OF ASHTANGA YOGA POSTURES AND 10 MINUTES OF COOL-DOWN WITH RELAXATION; AND THE SESSION INTENSITY WAS PROGRESSIVELY INCREASED DURING THE 8 MONTHS. PARTICIPANTS IN CON WERE ENCOURAGED TO MAINTAIN THEIR NORMAL DAILY LIFESTYLES MONITORED BY THE BONE-SPECIFIC PHYSICAL ACTIVITY QUESTIONNAIRE AT 2 MONTH INTERVALS FOR 8 MONTHS. ARTERIAL COMPLIANCE (PULSE CONTOUR ANALYSIS) AND MUSCLE STRENGTH (1 REPETITION MAXIMUM) WERE ASSESSED AT BASELINE AND AFTER THE INTERVENTION. ARTERIAL COMPLIANCE OF THE LARGE AND SMALL ARTERIES WAS NOT AFFECTED BY THE 8 MONTH YOGA TRAINING (P > 0.05). ALSO, THERE WERE NO SIGNIFICANT (P > 0.05) GROUP, TIME, OR GROUP X TIME INTERACTION EFFECTS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR VARIABLES. YE GROUP SIGNIFICANTLY (P < 0.01) IMPROVED LEG PRESS MUSCLE STRENGTH COMPARED TO CON (11.4% VS. -6.5%). EIGHT MONTHS OF ASHTANGA YOGA TRAINING WAS BENEFICIAL FOR IMPROVING LEG PRESS STRENGTH, BUT NOT ARTERIAL COMPLIANCE IN PREMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. KEY POINTSTHE 8 MONTH YOGA TRAINING DID NOT AFFECT ARTERIAL COMPLIANCE OF THE LARGE AND SMALL ARTERIES.NONE OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR VARIABLES WERE CHANGED BY THE YOGA INTERVENTION.ISOTONIC MUSCLE STRENGTH WAS NOT ALTERED BY THE YOGA INTERVENTION, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LEG PRESS. 2012 5 993 10 EFFECTS OF HEATED AND THERMONEUTRAL YOGA INTERVENTIONS ON ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS. THE STUDY INVESTIGATED THE EFFICACY OF 12 WEEKS OF HEATED AND THERMONEUTRAL BIKRAM YOGA IN REDUCING ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS. FIFTY-FOUR SEDENTARY ADULTS (AGES 40-60 YEARS) COMPLETED 12 WEEKS OF YOGA AT 40.5 DEGREES C (N = 21), YOGA AT 23 DEGREES C (N = 14) OR TIME CONTROL (N = 19). BRACHIAL-ANKLE PULSE WAVE VELOCITY (PWV) WAS NOT SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED BY HOT OR THERMONEUTRAL YOGA INTERVENTIONS. 2018 6 1111 27 EFFECTS OF YOGASANAS ON OSTEOPOROSIS IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. BACKGROUND: OSTEOPOROSIS IS COMMONLY ENCOUNTERED BY POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN. THERE IS AN INCREASED NEED FOR A LOW COST AND EFFICIENT TREATMENT ALTERNATIVE TO ADDRESS THIS POPULATION. AIMS: TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF INTEGRATED YOGA ON BONE MINERAL DENSITY (BMD) IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH OSTEOPOROSIS. SETTINGS AND DESIGNS: EXPERIMENTAL PRE-POST STUDY CONDUCTED IN A COMMUNITY SETTING. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 30 FEMALES IN THE AGE GROUP OF 45-62 YEARS SUFFERING FROM POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROSIS WITH A DUAL-ENERGY X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY (DEXA) SCORE OF 0.05, INDEPENDENT SAMPLES T TEST). SATTVA SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WITHIN THE GROUPS AND THE EFFECT SIZE WAS MORE IN THE Y THAN IN THE PE GROUP. RAJAS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE WITHIN AND BETWEEN THE GROUPS WITH A HIGHER EFFECT SIZE IN THE PE GROUP. TAMAS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION WITHIN THE PE GROUP ONLY. THE GHQ REVEALED THAT THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN SS, AI, SF AND SP IN BOTH Y AND PE GROUPS (WILCOXCON SINGED RANK T TEST). SS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GROUPS (MANN WHITNEY U TEST). CONCLUSIONS: THERE WAS AN IMPROVEMENT IN SATTVA IN BOTH THE YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS WITH A TREND OF HIGHER EFFECT SIZE IN YOGA; RAJAS REDUCED IN BOTH BUT SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER IN PE THAN IN YOGA AND TAMAS REDUCED IN PE. THE GENERAL HEALTH STATUS IMPROVED IN BOTH THE YOGA AND CONTROL GROUPS. 2008 16 1134 17 EFFICACY OF YOGA IN PREGNANT WOMEN WITH ABNORMAL DOPPLER STUDY OF UMBILICAL AND UTERINE ARTERIES. TO STUDY THE EFFICACY OF YOGA ON THE OUTCOME OF COMPLICATED PREGNANCY, 121 WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CLINIC AT GUNASHEELA SURGICAL AND MATERNITY HOSPITAL (GSMH) IN BANGALORE, INDIA, WERE ENROLLED BETWEEN 18-20 WEEKS OF PREGNANCY IN A PROSPECTIVE, MATCHED, OBSERVATIONAL STUDY. SIXTY-EIGHT WOMEN WERE IN THE YOGA GROUP AND 53 WOMEN IN THE CONTROL GROUP. WOMEN WERE MATCHED FOR AGE, GRAVIDA AND DOPPLER VELOCIMETRY SCORES OF UMBILICAL AND UTERINE ARTERIES. YOGA PRACTICES INCLUDING PHYSICAL POSTURES, BREATHING AND MEDITATION WERE PRACTISED BY THE YOGA GROUP, ONE HOUR DAILY, FROM THE DATE OF ENTRY INTO THE STUDY UNTIL DELIVERY. THE CONTROL GROUP WALKED HALF AN HOUR TWICE A DAY DURING THE STUDY PERIOD. COMPLIANCE IN BOTH THE GROUPS WAS ENSURED. IN BABIES THE BIRTH-WEIGHT IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER (P < 0.018) IN THE YOGA GROUP (2.78 +/- 0.52 KG), COMPARED TO THE CONTROL GROUP (2.55 +/- 0.52 KG). OCCURRENCE OF COMPLICATIONS OF PREGNANCY (PREGNANCY-INDUCED HYPERTENSION, INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RETARDATION, PRE-TERM DELIVERY) SHOWS LOWER TRENDS IN YOGA GROUP. 2005 17 675 22 EFFECT OF A SIX-MONTH YOGA EXERCISE INTERVENTION ON FITNESS OUTCOMES FOR BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS. YOGA-BASED EXERCISE HAS PROVEN TO BE BENEFICIAL FOR PRACTITIONERS, INCLUDING CANCER SURVIVORS. THIS STUDY REPORTS ON THE IMPROVEMENTS IN PHYSICAL FITNESS FOR 20 BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS WHO PARTICIPATED IN A SIX-MONTH YOGA-BASED EXERCISE PROGRAM (YE). RESULTS ARE COMPARED TO A COMPREHENSIVE EXERCISE (CE) PROGRAM GROUP AND A COMPARISON (C) EXERCISE GROUP WHO CHOSE THEIR OWN EXERCISES. "PRE" AND "POST" FITNESS ASSESSMENTS INCLUDED MEASURES OF ANTHROPOMETRICS, CARDIORESPIRATORY CAPACITY, STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS, EFFECT SIZE (D), DEPENDENT SAMPLE 'T' TESTS FOR ALL OUTCOME MEASURES WERE CALCULATED FOR THE YE GROUP. SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDED: DECREASED % BODY FAT (-3.00%, D = -0.44, P < 0.001); INCREASED SIT TO STAND LEG STRENGTH REPETITIONS (2.05, D = 0.48, P = 0.003); FORWARD REACH (3.59 CM, D = 0.61, P = 0.01); AND RIGHT ARM SAGITTAL RANGE OF MOTION (6.50 DEGREES , D = 0.92, P = 0.05). TO COMPARE YE OUTCOMES WITH THE OTHER TWO GROUPS, A ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA) WAS USED. YE PARTICIPANTS SIGNIFICANTLY OUTPERFORMED C PARTICIPANTS ON "FORWARD REACH" (3.59 CM GAINED VERSUS -2.44 CM LOST), (P = 0.009) AND OUTPERFORMED CE PARTICIPANTS (3.59 CM GAINED VERSUS 1.35 CM GAINED), BUT NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. OUR RESULTS SUPPORT YOGA-BASED EXERCISE MODIFIED FOR BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS AS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE. 2015 18 1867 24 RANDOMIZED TRIAL OF YOGA AS A COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY FOR PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS. OBJECTIVE: THE PRESENT PROSPECTIVE, RANDOMIZED TRIAL COMPARED THE EFFICACY OF ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS TREATMENT (ATT) WITH TWO SEPARATE PROGRAMS (YOGA AND BREATH AWARENESS), ON LUNG CAPACITIES AND BACTERIOLOGICAL STATUS IN PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS. METHODOLOGY: A TOTAL OF 1009 PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS WERE SCREENED AND 73 WERE ALTERNATELY ALLOCATED, TO YOGA (N = 36) OR BREATH AWARENESS (N = 37) GROUPS, WITH 48 PATIENTS COMPLETING THE 2-MONTH TRIAL. PATIENTS AGED BETWEEN 20 AND 55 YEARS, WHO WERE SPUTUM-POSITIVE ON THREE CONSECUTIVE EXAMINATIONS, HAD NO PRIOR ATT, AND NO COMORBIDITIES OR EXTRAPULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS WERE INCLUDED. IN ADDITION TO ATT, ONE GROUP PRACTISED YOGA (N = 25) AND THE OTHER PRACTISED BREATH AWARENESS (N = 23) FOR 6 H PER WEEK, EACH SESSION BEING 60 MIN. THE MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES WERE: SYMPTOM SCORES, BODYWEIGHT, FVC, FEV(1), FEV(1)/FVC%, SPUTUM MICROSCOPY, SPUTUM CULTURE, AND POSTERO-ANTERIOR VIEW OF THE CXR. RESULTS: AT THE END OF 2 MONTHS, THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN SYMPTOM SCORES (88.1%), AND AN INCREASE IN WEIGHT (10.9%), FVC (64.7%) AND FEV(1) (83.6%) (P = 0.001, IN ALL COMPARISONS, PAIRED T-TEST). THE BREATH AWARENESS GROUP ALSO SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT (PAIRED T-TEST) REDUCTION IN SYMPTOM SCORES (16.3%, P= 0.02), AND AN INCREASE IN WEIGHT (2.1%, P= 0.003) AND FEV(1) (63.8%, P= 0.04). SIGNIFICANTLY MORE PATIENTS IN THE YOGA GROUP SHOWED SPUTUM CONVERSION BASED ON MICROSCOPY ON DAYS 30 AND 45 COMPARED TO THE BREATH AWARENESS GROUP (P = 0.045 AND P= 0.002, RESPECTIVELY, CHI(2) TEST). TEN OF 13 IN THE YOGA GROUP HAD NEGATIVE SPUTUM CULTURE AFTER 60 DAYS COMPARED WITH FOUR OF 19 IN THE BREATH AWARENESS GROUP (P = 0.005, CHI(2) TEST). IMPROVEMENT IN THE RADIOGRAPHIC PICTURE OCCURRED IN 16/25 IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPARED TO 3/22 IN THE BREATH AWARENESS GROUP ON DAY 60 (P = 0.001, CHI(2) TEST). CONCLUSIONS: THE IMPROVED LEVEL OF INFECTION, RADIOGRAPHIC PICTURE, FVC, WEIGHT GAIN AND REDUCED SYMPTOMS IN THE YOGA GROUP SUGGEST A COMPLEMENTARY ROLE FOR YOGA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS. 2004 19 2816 19 YOGA TRAINING IMPROVES METABOLIC PARAMETERS IN OBESE BOYS. YOGA HAS BEEN KNOWN TO HAVE STIMULATORY OR INHIBITORY EFFECTS ON THE METABOLIC PARAMETERS AND TO BE UNCOMPLICATED THERAPY FOR OBESITY. THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT STUDY WAS TO TEST THE EFFECT OF AN 8-WEEK OF YOGA-ASANA TRAINING ON BODY COMPOSITION, LIPID PROFILE, AND INSULIN RESISTANCE (IR) IN OBESE ADOLESCENT BOYS. TWENTY VOLUNTEERS WITH BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) GREATER THAN THE 95TH PERCENTILE WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO YOGA (AGE 14.7+/-0.5 YEARS, N=10) AND CONTROL GROUPS (AGE 14.6+/-1.0 YEARS, N=10). THE YOGA GROUP PERFORMED EXERCISES THREE TIMES PER WEEK AT 40~60% OF HEART-RATE RESERVE (HRR) FOR 8 WEEKS. IR WAS DETERMINED WITH THE HOMEOSTASIS MODEL ASSESSMENT OF INSULIN RESISTANCE (HOMA-IR). AFTER YOGA TRAINING, BODY WEIGHT, BMI, FAT MASS (FM), AND BODY FAT % (BF %) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED, AND FAT-FREE MASS AND BASAL METABOLIC RATE WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THAN BASELINE VALUES. FM AND BF % WERE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED IN THE YOGA GROUP COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL GROUP (P<0.05). TOTAL CHOLESTEROL (TC) WAS SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN THE YOGA GROUP (P<0.01). HDL-CHOLESTEROL WAS DECREASED IN BOTH GROUPS (P<0.05). NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE OBSERVED BETWEEN OR WITHIN GROUPS FOR TRIGLYCERIDES, LDL-CHOLESTEROL, GLUCOSE, INSULIN, AND HOMA-IR. OUR FINDINGS SHOW THAT AN 8-WEEK OF YOGA TRAINING IMPROVES BODY COMPOSITION AND TC LEVELS IN OBESE ADOLESCENT BOYS, SUGGESTING THAT YOGA TRAINING MAY BE EFFECTIVE IN CONTROLLING SOME METABOLIC SYNDROME FACTORS IN OBESE ADOLESCENT BOYS. 2012 20 50 22 A COMPARATIVE CONTROLLED TRIAL COMPARING THE EFFECTS OF YOGA AND WALKING FOR OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE ADULTS. BACKGROUND: WALKING AND YOGA HAVE BEEN INDEPENDENTLY EVALUATED FOR WEIGHT CONTROL; HOWEVER, THERE ARE VERY FEW STUDIES COMPARING THE 2 WITH RANDOMIZATION. MATERIAL AND METHODS: THE PRESENT STUDY COMPARED THE EFFECTS OF 90 MINUTES/DAY FOR 15 DAYS OF SUPERVISED YOGA OR SUPERVISED WALKING ON: (I) RELATED BIOCHEMISTRY, (II) ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES, (III) BODY COMPOSITION, (IV) POSTURAL STABILITY, AND (V) BILATERAL HAND GRIP STRENGTH IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PERSONS. SIXTY-EIGHT PARTICIPANTS, OF WHOM 5 WERE OVERWEIGHT (BMI >/=25 KG/M2) AND 63 WERE OBESE (BMI >/=30 KG/M2; GROUP MEAN AGE +/-S.D., 36.4+/-11.2 YEARS; 35 FEMALES), WERE RANDOMIZED AS 2 GROUPS - (I) A YOGA GROUP AND (II) A WALKING GROUP - GIVEN THE SAME DIET. RESULTS: ALL DIFFERENCES WERE PRE-POST CHANGES WITHIN EACH GROUP. BOTH GROUPS SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT (P<0.05; REPEATED MEASURES ANOVA, POST-HOC ANALYSES) DECREASE IN: BMI, WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE, HIP CIRCUMFERENCE, LEAN MASS, BODY WATER, AND TOTAL CHOLESTEROL. THE YOGA GROUP INCREASED SERUM LEPTIN (P<0.01) AND DECREASED LDL CHOLESTEROL (P<0.05). THE WALKING GROUP DECREASED SERUM ADIPONECTIN (P<0.05) AND TRIGLYCERIDES (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: BOTH YOGA AND WALKING IMPROVED ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES AND SERUM LIPID PROFILE IN OVERWEIGHT AND OBESE PERSONS. THE POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS ARE DISCUSSED. 2014