In a world of misinformation, Fitness Pudding is here to separate fact from fallacy, and science from fiction.
I just saw another miscontrued web article on ABC/Yahoo! News titled, "Jennifer Aniston Touts 'Yogalosophy' for Stunning Figure". A celebrity favorite, yoga has claims spread all across the Internet that it can shed pounds, tone and lean out muscles (whatever that means). But, what does the research say about it?
Before I get too far, yoga is great for a number of reasons...just not for weight loss. Check out some of the potential areas of benefit:
For more on these benefits, see this review article.
Clearly, Yoga has a lot of benefits, however weight loss is not one of them. Research tells us that Yoga, alone, has minimal to no effect on weight or fat loss. However, when yogic training is combined with healthy eating and stress relief, weight loss may occur. However, it is unlikely that a large contribution of the weight loss is due to the yoga, in these cases.
If we look at a simple analogy with caloric expenditure in 1-hour*, we can begin to see why:
Activity |
METs |
Calories/Hour |
Hatha Yoga |
2.5 |
170 |
Fishing (general) |
3.0 |
204 |
Brisk Walking |
3.5 |
238 |
Weight Lifting |
6.0 |
408 |
Circuit Training |
8.0 |
544 |
*These figures are based on a 150 pound person from MET estimates provided by the ACSM Physical Activity Compendium. Of course, other forms of Yoga may provide different estimates, but have not been shown to compete with more traditional forms of aerobic exercise and weight training in Caloric expenditure.
However, one advantage of yoga is that many adopt a yogic lifestyle, which commonly promotes eating a healthy, often plant-based, diet, highlight stress relief, and promote a physically active life outside of the yoga classes. So, weight loss could easily occur once this lifestyle is adopted.
Clearly, Yoga is not the primary choice for Caloric expenditure or weight/fat loss, and does not hold up to claims that the celebrity tabloids or 'trusted' news sources would have us to believe. However, Yoga does provide many benefits, and can be an extraordinary supplement to other physical activities that may be better suited for weight loss.
Note. If you want to calculate how many estimated Calories you would expend doing the above activities, or any other activies in the Physical Activity Compendium, simply follow these steps:
Dr. Faries has a Ph.D. in Behavioral Medicine and a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology, balanced with experience across the fitness industry, medicine, public health, research and extension.
His research explores why and how people initiate and maintain healthy behaviors, with focus on self-regulation success and failure. In other words, he seeks to better understand the common struggle with adopting healthy lifestyles, clarifying the reasons why we don’t “just do it.” Dr. Faries also holds unique expertise in medication adherence, when lifestyle is the medicine.
Dr. Faries also trains the next generation of ‘myth busters’ through medical and public health education, including his popular course, MythBusters: Health Edition.
Dr. Faries has served on the Board of Directors of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, is founder of Lone Star Lifestyle Medicine for Texas, and is founder of FitnessPudding.com – a non-profit site dedicated to debunking common health and fitness myths.