by Buffy Olson
The country has and has been experiencing an obesity epidemic; the CDC reports that in 2023 35% of the population has obesity (CDC Newsroom, 2024). The CDC lists the reasons for obesity to high levels of stress, lack of access to healthy food, poor sleep, and safe places to be active (2024). The CDC further states that obesity prevention and healthy weight family programs are necessary to bettering the health of our community and individuals.
Yoga serves as not only a strategy preventative to obesity related to health ailments, but also a treatment. Yoga has been related to easing anxiety, depression, stress, weight management, and improved immunity and overall improved feelings of well-being. The benefits of yoga are so numerous that Mr. Sengupta says that “The holistic science of yoga is the best method for prevention as well as management of stress and stress-induced disorders (2024).” Obesity and stress related disorders are strongly connected with poverty.
The APA states that health disparities, which include obesity and stress-related illnesses, often stem from economic detriments including poorer education and geographical locations (n.d.) and lower socio-economic status. Unfortunately, many people do not have safe access to yoga studios or spaces that they feel safe practicing yoga or have a lack of knowledge of how to get started in their own practice. There is no one way or place to practice yoga; yoga doesn’t need to exist only in boutiques or gyms where memberships are often inaccessible for certain economic groups that suffer from obesity and stress. There are places and platforms that make yoga accessible, for example local recreation centers and YouTube, but yoga needs to be made more accessible for all people, and awareness brought to all of the health benefits of practicing yoga regularly to communities that need it most; yoga should be in our schools taught to our children and teachers, yoga should be made accessible to our truckers, laborers, and the many different groups of our working class.
Research on the exact benefits of practicing yoga is still being done but there has been enough to know for certain that regular yoga practice increases not only quality of life, but it also increases lifespan.
All of us in the health and wellness fields of work whether it’s mental health, physical fitness, or the medical field must work to educate our communities and make yoga and yoga tools more accessible for all people with particular care for those who are working in public service, labor jobs, and lower income. We need more yoga accessibility not only for a better society today but for a much healthier future.
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Fact sheet: Health disparities and stress. American Psychological Association. www.apa.org/topics/racism-bias-discrimination/health-disparities-stress
New CDC Data Show Adult Obesity Prevalence Remains High. CDC Newsroom. (2024, September 12). www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/p0912-adult-obesity.html
Sengupta P. (2012). Health Impacts of Yoga and Pranayama: A State-of-the-Art Review. International journal of preventive medicine, 3(7), 444–458.
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