A new study published in the Scandanavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports investigated the effect of yoga on adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and found that yoga training decreased proinflammatory adipokines and increased anti-inflammatory adipokines, supporting the beneficial role of yoga in managing MetS.
A total of 97 adults with MetS and high-normal blood pressure were randomly assigned to a control group or a yoga group. According to the study abstract, “Participants in the control group were not given any intervention but were contacted monthly to monitor their health status. Participants in the yoga group underwent a yoga training program with three 1-hour yoga sessions weekly for 1 year. The participants’ sera were harvested and assessed for adipokines.”
Generalized estimating equation analyses “revealed significant interaction effects between 1-year time and yoga intervention for the decreases in leptin and chemerin and the increase in adiponectin concentration in the sera examined. These results demonstrated that 1-year yoga training decreased proinflammatory adipokines and increased anti-inflammatory adipokine in adults with MetS and high-normal blood pressure.”