141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

280151
Physical benefits of yoga for elementary school students

Monday, November 4, 2013

Brandon Eggleston, PhD MPH CHES RYT , Yoga Outreach, Education, and Research, Eggleston Wellness, Plymouth, IN
The practice of yoga has been practiced for over 5,000 years, but for nearly all of that time period it was limited to men and selected male children. Today, yoga is practiced by people from every demographic group for its numerous physical and psychosocial benefits. However, little research has been conducted on the physical benefits for children. This study tracked two groups of elementary students who were monitored over eight weeks with group practicing yoga twice each week and one group not practicing yoga being a control group. Results showed that individuals that practice yoga did not experience any short term weight gain and reported eating less sugary, salty, and fatty foods. Children in the yoga group were more likely to maintain their resting heart rate and blood pressure in normal healthy rates than the control group. A growing number of research studies have shown that yoga for children helps prevent and treat obesity and thus decrease risk of children developing Type-2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and some types of cancer. Yoga practice may be an activity that children can acquire and carry with them their entire lifetime as a way to improve their well-being including their physical health and not limited to psychosocial health (stress management).

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Define, list, and describe the physical benefits of yoga for children aged 5-11 years of age (elementary school students).

Keywords: Children, Health Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been researching yoga for the past seven years including several studies on the benefits of yoga for children, adolescents, and young adults. I am a registered yoga teacher and published author on several articles, grants and dozens of conference presentations on the practice of yoga.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.