Significance of Yogic Lifestyle in controlling Obesity

Background: Obesity is supposed to be a gift of sedentary lifestyle. In obesity there is an excessive increase in body weight because of extra fat accumulation. The common symptoms in obesity are weight gain, heaviness in the body, general lassitude, breathlessness on exertion, excessive sleep etc. It may arise due to lack of exercise and faulty lifestyle (improper Ahara-Vihara), stress, imbalance of thyroid hormones and pituitary hormones. Yoga establishes harmony between body, mind and emotions. Obesity can be controlled through Yoga-based lifestyle including healthy diet, healthy daily routine, proper efforts in action, proper sleep-awakening and regular observance of Yogic practices. Objectives: The review aims at critical understanding and analysis of the importance of Yogic lifestyle in prevention and controlling Obesity. Results: An extensive review of ancient Yogic literature, research journals and reports was done. Review of classical textual data was gathered from texts of Hatha Yoga and contemporary sciences with scholarly articles related to Yoga and obesity. Conclusion: Obesity is one of the major risk factors for many metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hyper-lipidaemia etc. Various researches proved that specific Yogic practices are beneficial in controlling obesity. Adoption of Yogic lifestyle could be a cost-effective solution to the society for prevention and control of obesity.