Associate the body and the spirit to regulate its organism. Yoga and meditation are associated with a lower risk of overweight according to the NutriNet-Santé study.
Work body and mind together. This is a formula that may seem like a cliché. And yet techniques that combine psyche and physique – like yoga or meditation – are associated with a lower body mass index (BMI). This is the astonishing conclusion provided by the French NutriNet-Santé study, published in theAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine.
61,704 Internet users answered questionnaires on lifestyle. Among them, 16,673 had already practiced a so-called “body-mind” approach. This term designates different practices that emphasize the interactions between the physical and the psychological. This can be meditation or relaxation, but also techniques such as yoga, relaxation therapy, qigong or tai chi. 8% of Nutrinauts practiced them regularly, 6% intermittently.
The advantage of these techniques is that they are supposed to improve general behaviors, including diet. But few studies have looked at their impact on eating habits, and more particularly on being overweight. According to the results of the NutriNet-Santé study, yoga and meditation have a real benefit.
“Users of these techniques are less at risk of overweight, and even less at risk of obesity than individuals who have never practiced body-mind technique,” write the authors. The likelihood is lowest among regular users, an association that holds true for both sexes. For a regular male user, the risk of overweight and obesity is reduced by 35% and 58% respectively compared to a non-practitioner. For a woman, it is reduced by 27% and 34%.
Two avenues are put forward to explain this positive action. Body-mind techniques tend to promote homeostasis, that is to say, balance in the functioning of the organism. They would also promote the activation of brain structures that allow cognitive and emotional self-regulation.
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