Effects of Yogic Practices with and without Diet Modification on Selected Physical and Physiological Variables among Pregnant Women

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of yogic practices on Body Mass Index (BMI) and Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) level among pregnant women in their second trimester. To achieve the purpose sixty (60) primiparous women were randomly selected from various maternal health centers in and around Chennai city. Their age varied between 23 Years to 28 Years. Subjects were randomly assigned into three groups. Experimental group I (20-subjects) Experimental group II (20) and Control group (20). Experimental group I underwent six days of yogic practices for one hour in the morning between 6.30 am to 7.30 am along with diet consultation. Experimental group II also underwent similar practices without any modification in their regular routine diet. Whereas control group did not undergo any training program except their regular maternal health check up. All the three groups were tested for Body Mass Index using standardized formula (Height in meter square /Weight in Kilogram) and Fasting Blood Glucose level using standardized laboratory test. The data pertaining to the variables collected from all the three groups before and after the training period were statistically analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANACOVA) to determine the significant difference and tested at 0.05 level of confidence. The study reveals that Experimental groups show a significant difference in BMI and FBG than the control group. Experimental groups, I show the significantly better difference in BMI and FBG than Experimental group II due to yogic intervention along with diet modification. Hence the hypothesis was accepted at 0.05 level of confidence. .