Om Away Weight

By Marcy Franklin

Here’s even more reason to get on the mat: A new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center shows people who practice yoga regularly eat more mindfully, proving that both the physical and mental components of yoga help thwart weight gain. Researchers asked more than 300 people, mostly women, questions about their eating patterns. Those who practiced yoga more than one hour per week demonstrated more mindful eating practices, such as recognizing sensations and tastes of food, while those who ran or walked regularly but didn’t do yoga had less mindful habits, like eating when anxious or depressed. Not surprisingly, the yogis also had lower average body mass indexes than non-yogis—23.1 compared to 25.8. —MF