Overweight and obesity are defined as an excessive fat accumulation in the body that may
impair health and increase the risk of morbidity from several pathologies, including
hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, non-alcoholic
fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and cancers of the endometrium, breast, prostate,
and colon. Being overweight and obesity are becoming major health problems worldwide
including in developing countries. It is of multifactorial origin and the most important cause is
an improper lifestyle and stress leading to hyperlipidemia, lipid peroxidation, and increased
generation of reactive oxygen species thereby generating oxidative stress. Regular practice of
yoga has shown beneficial effects on lipid profile and oxidative stress status in type 2
diabetes mellitus and other ailments. Hence, the present study was undertaken to find out the
effect of the yogic intervention on lipid profile, oxidative stress, and physiological parameters
in overweight and obese adults.
After taking institutional ethical committee clearance, a total of two hundred subjects (group
average age, 27.9 ± 2.6 years) were included in the present study by applying the revised body
mass index (BMI) classification which defines overweight as BMI between 23-24.9 kg/m2
and obesity as BMI>=25 kg/m2. Based on the BMI the recruited subjects were divided into
overweight (n=76) and obese (n=124) groups. Clinical history and anthropometric data were
collected from all the subjects.
