EFFECT OF YOGIC PRACTICES ON BODY MASS INDEX AND ANXIETY AMONG ADULT STRESSED WOMEN

 

*S.Ezhilarasi, ** Dr. S.Murugesan, *Full-Time Ph.D Scholar, Faculty of Yoga Sciences and Therapy, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research (Deemed to be University), No.12, Vembuliamman Koil Street, West K.K.Nagar, Chennai-78, Tamil Nadu, India. E- Mail ID: yogasoundarya@gmail.com, **Associate Professor, Faculty of Yoga Sciences and Therapy, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research(Deemed to be University), No.12, Vembuliamman Koil Street, West K.K.Nagar, Chennai-78, Tamil Nadu, India.  E-Mail ID: murugeshyoga@gmail.com.

 

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the random group experimental study was to find out the effect of yogic practices on Body Mass Index (BMI) and Anxiety among adult stressed women. For the purpose of study, 30 adult stressed women were selected randomly by using random group sampling method from Chennai city and their age was ranged between 20 and 30 years. The selected subjects were divided into two groups, i.e. experimental group I and control group II of 15 subjects each. It was hypothesized that there would be significant differences among the adult stressed women on selected Physiological and Psychological variables such as Body Mass Index (BMI) and Anxiety due to yogic practices than the control group. Preliminary test was conducted on selected dependant variables for both groups before start of the training program. Experimental group underwent yogic practices for 60 minutes, Six days a week for a total period of 12 weeks. Practices include Loosening the Joints, Asanas, breathing and relaxation techniques. Control group did not undergo any treatment but in active rest. Post test was conducted on selected dependent variables such as Body Mass Index (BMI) and Anxiety. The collected data were analysed with Analysis of Co-Variance (ANCOVA). The level of significance was fixed at 0.05 level of confidence. The results of the study showed that there was a significant difference on Body Mass Index (BMI) (decreased) and Anxiety (reduced) due to 12 weeks of yogic practices among adult stressed women. The hypothesis was accepted at 0.05 level of confidence. Hence it is concluded that Yogic practices are beneficial for Adult Stressed Women to maintain healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) and to overcome Anxiety.

 

Key words: Yoga, Adult stressed women, Yogic Practices, Body Mass Index (BMI), and Anxiety

 

INTRODUCTION

Everyone experiences stress. Stress can be positive and motivate women to achieve notable goals. But stress can also be negative and destructive, taking its toll in many life areas. When stress becomes chronic or excessive, it becomes harder to adapt and cope. Stress is body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. Stressors are the external events, including pressures in people's lives, such as marriage, children, work, money and divorce. Women on daily basis undergo stressful situation while performing the chore which gets build up and become chronic if left unnoticed. Research indicates that women's biological response to stress is to "tend and befriend"; this is, make sure the women are safe and then network with other women in stressful times. During stress, hormones including adrenaline and cortisol flood the body, resulting in an increased need for oxygen, increased Body Mass Index (BMI) and blood pressure, constricted blood vessels in the skin, tensed muscles, increased blood sugar levels, increased clotting ability of blood, spilling of stored fat from cells into the bloodstream, constriction of bowel and intestinal muscles, Cortisol, a hormone released when you're under stress, is an appetite trigger. It also leads to heart problems, Headaches and migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, Pregnancy issues and menstrual problems. Psychosocial stress may lead to weight gain through neuroendocrine and inflammatory pathways that directly increase abdominal adiposity. Women have higher rates of Depression and anxiety as well as other psychological disorders including panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder than men.

Yoga play an important role in restoring health in a holistic manner and promoting better physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Yoga improves the functioning of organs, strengthens immunity, uplifts mood and brings a plethora of additional benefits. Regular yoga practice through asanas, pranayama and meditation can put on the path to holistic well-being. Yoga practices suggest they can reduce the impact of exaggerated stress responses and may be helpful for both anxiety and depression. In this respect, yoga functions like other self-soothing techniques, such as meditation, relaxation, exercise, or even socializing with friends. The evidence is growing that yoga practice is a relatively low-risk, high-yield approach to improving overall health.

 

CAUSES

• Financial status
• Job security
• Health
• Feeling unprepared or cluttered
• Lack of rest
• Improper Diet
• Relationship issues.

 

SYMPTOMS

• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Trouble sleep
• Sudden Weight gain/Weight loss
• Stomach upset
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Absentmindedness
• Frequent pains and aches
• Sexual issues
• Intake of drugs and Alcohol

 

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of the study was to find out whether there would be any significant difference on selected Physiological variable such as Body Mass Index (BMI) and Psychological variable such as Anxiety due to yogic practices among Adult Stressed Women.

 

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study was to find out the effect of yogic practices on Body Mass Index (BMI) and Anxiety among Adult Stressed Women.

 

HYPOTHESIS

It was hypothesized that there would be significant differences on Body Mass Index (BMI) and Anxiety among Adult Stressed Women due to yogic practices than the control group.

 

DELIMITATIONS  

• The study was confined to Adult Stressed Women only.
• Subjects were selected from Chennai only.
• The age of the subject was ranged from 20 to 30 years only.
• The study was delimited to 12 weeks only.
• The independent variables were yogic practices only.
• The study was conducted on Body Mass Index (BMI) and Anxiety as dependant variable only

 

LIMITTIONS

• The factors like Socio – Economical status were not taken into consideration.
• The climatic conditions were not considered.
• Factors like life style habits were not taken into consideration.
• Subject’s day to day activities were not taken into account.
• Diet and medication followed by subjects was controlled.

 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

O'Neill et.al., (2020) conducted the study on Too stressed to self-regulate Associations between stresses self-reported executive function, disinhibited eating and BMI in women. Participants were 249 women who completed an online survey measured stress using Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale, EF using the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), disinhibited eating using the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire, and self-reported BMI. Analysis on this cross-sectional sample of women to test our hypothesis that higher stress is associated with reduced EF, greater disinhibited eating, and higher BMI and tested the indirect effects from stress to disinhibited eating and from stress to BMI. Stress was related to lower EF (β = 0.53 p < .001), lower EF was related to greater disinhibited eating (β = 0.34, p < .001), and disinhibited eating was related to higher BMI (β = 0.37, p < .001). There was an indirect effect of stress on disinhibited eating through EF (β = 0.18, SE = 0.04, p < .001) and an indirect effect of stress on BMI through EF and disinhibited eating (β = 0.07, SE = 0.02, p < .001). Women with higher stress may have higher BMI, in part due to reduced EF and disinhibited eating; suggesting that interventions designed to improve stress management and EF may also improve success with weight control, at least in this population of women.

 

Sarker et.al., (2013) conducted the study on “Direction of post-prandial ghrelin response associated with cortisol response, perceived stress and anxiety, and self-reported coping and hunger in obese women”. The appetite management and obesity is directly linked with neurobiological changes modulating stress. The orexigenic hormone, ghrelin may moderate anxiety and stress-related eating behaviour. The study involves analysis of ghrelin, cortisol and subjective hunger, anxiety, and stress; eating behaviour; coping ability among obese subjects before and after food intake. 18 obese subjects are chosen and were divided in to two group based on the response of ghrelin to a standard meal. A meal mediated suppression in serum ghrelin (post/pre < .94) was defined as a normal ghrelin response (NG) (n = 9) and failure to suppress (post/pre > 1.0) was designated as faulty ghrelin response (FG) (n = 9). Ghrelin and cortisol responses were correlated, r (18) = 0.558, p = .016. FG subjects had lower ratings of coping ability [t(2,16) = 2.437, p = .027 and higher ratings of hunger cues in the expected direction [t(2,16) = −2.061, p = .056] compared to NG subjects. Meal mediated declines in subjective hunger were observed for both NG [t(1,8) = 4.141, p = .003] and FG [t(1,8) = 2.718, p = .026]. NG also showed declines in subjective anxiety [t(1,8) = 2.977, p = .018], subjective stress [t(1,8) = 2.321, p = .049], and cortisol [t(1,8) = 4.214, p = .003].The results showcases Ghrelin may contribute to stress related eating disorder and has consistent relationship with stress, mood and obesity.

 

METHODOLOGY

To achieve the purpose of the study, 60 came forward, 45 were screened and 30 Adult Stressed Women were selected randomly from Chennai, between the age group from 20 to 30 years and they were divided into two groups I and II with 15 subjects in each group. Preliminary test was conducted for the two groups (I and II) on the selected dependent variables before the start of the training program. Group I subjects were given Yogic practices for 60 minutes , six days in a week for a total period of 12 weeks.

Yogic practices such Loosening the Joint ,Tadasana, Katichakrasana, Veerabhadrasana, Padahastasana, Trikonasana, Badhakonasana, Bharadwajasana,Sheshangasana, Vajrasana, Uttanapadasana, Halasana, Sarvangasana, Sethubandasana, Matsyasana, Bhujangasana , Dhanurasana ,Makarasana and Pranayama practices such as Kapalabhati , Bhastrika, Nadi Shodana Pranayama, Brahmari Pranayama followed by Yoga Nidra. Group II (Control Group) subjects were permitted to undergo their routine and normal lifestyle during the course of experiment without any specific training.

After 12 weeks, the two groups were retested again on the same selected dependent variables such as Body Mass Index (BMI) and Anxiety was measured. Analysis of Co-Variance (ANCOVA) was used to find out the significant differences between experimental group and the control group. The test of significance was fixed at 0.05 level of confidence

 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

• The data pertaining to the variable collected from the groups before and after the training period were statistically analysed by using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to determine the significant difference and the hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of confidence.
• The obtained F-ratio value for the body mass index and low density lipoprotein were greater than the table value, indicating that there was a significant difference among the post test and adjusted post-test means of the yogic practice group than the control group on selected Physiological and Psychological variables.

 

TABLE I

COMPUTATION OF MEAN AND ANALYSIS OF CO-VARIANCE (ANCOVA) OF BMI OF EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUP (Scores in (Weight (kg) / Height (m) 2)

Test	Group-A Yogic Practices	Group-B Control Group	Source Of Variation	Degrees of Freedom	Sum of Squares	Mean Sum of Squares	F-Ratio
Pre	26.13	26.67	Between	1	2.13	2.13	1.19
			With in	28	50.07	1.79
Post	20.97	26.23	Between	1	208.03	208.03	20.18*
			With in	28	288.67	10.31
Adjusted Post	20.93	26.27	Between	1	205.85	205.85	19.33*
			With in	27	287.46	15.14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Significant at 0.05 level of confidence (Table F ratio at 0.05 level of confidence for df 1 and 28 = 4.20, 1 and 27 = 4.21).

The obtained F value on pre-test scores 1.19 was lesser than the required F value of 4.20 to be significant at 0.05 level. This proved that there was a significant difference between the groups a pre-test and post-test and the randomization at the pre-test was equal. The post test scores analysis proved that there was significant difference between the groups, as obtained F value 20.18 was greater than the required F value of 4.20. This proved that the differences between the post- test means of the subjects were significant. Taking into consideration the pre and post test scores among the groups, adjusted mean scores were calculated and subjected to statistical treatment. The obtained F value 19.33was greater than the required F value of 4.20. This proved that there was a significant difference on Body Mass Index (BMI)reduced due to 12 weeks of yogic practices among Adult Stressed Women. The result of this study on Body Mass Index (BMI) has in line with the study conducted by O'Neillet.al., (2020). The ordered adjusted means on stress were presented through bar diagram for better understanding of the results of this study in Figure -1

 

Figure – 1

BAR DIAGRAM SHOWING THE MEAN DIFFERENCES AMONG THE GROUPS ON BMI (Scores in (Weight (kg) / Height (m) 2)

* Significant at 0.05 level of confidence (Table F ratio at 0.05 level of confidence for df 1 and 28 =   4.20, 1 and 27 = 4.21).

 

TABLE II

ANALYSIS OF CO-VARIANCE (ANCOVA) OF THE MEANS OF TWO EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS AND THE CONTROL GROUP ON ANXIETY (SCORES IN MARKS)

Test	Group-A Yogic Practices	Group-B Control Group	Source Of Variation	Degrees of Freedom	Sum of Squares	Mean Sum of Squares	F-Ratio
Pre	24.93	24.73	Between	1	2.13	2.13	0.60
			With in	28	99.33	3.55
Post	10.80	23.47	Between	1	1203.33	1203.33	267.12*
			With in	28	126.13	4.50
Adjusted Post	10.74	23.52	Between	1	1198.63	1198.63	265.51*
			With in	27	121.89	4.51

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Significant at 0.05 level of confidence (Table F ratio at 0.05 level of confidence for df 1 and 28 = 4.20, 1    and 27 = 4.21).

 

The obtained F value on pre-test scores 0.60 was lesser than the required F value of 4.20 to be significant at 0.05 level. This proved that there was a significant difference between the groups a pre-test and post-test and the randomization at the pre-test was equal. The post test scores analysis proved that there was significant difference between the groups, as obtained F value 267.12 was greater than the required F value of 4.20. This proved that the differences between the post- test means of the subjects were significant. Taking into consideration the pre and post test scores among the groups, adjusted mean scores were calculated and subjected to statistical treatment. The obtained F value 265.51 was greater than the required F value of 4.20. This proved that there was a significant difference on Anxiety reduced due to 12 weeks of yogic practices among Adult Stressed Women. The result of this study on Anxiety has in line with the study conducted by Sarkeret.al., (2013)

The ordered adjusted means on stress were presented through bar diagram for better understanding of the results of this study in Figure -II.

 

Figure – II

BAR DIAGRAM SHOWING THE MEAN DIFFERENCES AMONG THE GROUPS ON ANXIETY (SCORES IN MARKS)

* Significant at 0.05 level of confidence (Table F ratio at 0.05 level of confidence for df 1 and 28 = 4.20, 1    and 27 = 4.21).

 

DISCUSSION ON HYPOTHESIS

It was hypothesized that there would be significant differences on selected Physiological variable such as Body Mass Index (BMI) and Psychological variable such as Anxiety due to yogic practices among Adult Stressed Women than the control group. The results proved that there were significant differences on Body Mass Index (BMI) (Decreased) and Anxiety (Reduced) due to yogic practices than the control group among Adult Stressed Women. The Hypothesis was accepted at 0.05 level of significant.

 

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that yogic practices decreased Body Mass Index (BMI) and reduced anxiety significantly among Adult Stressed Women. Hence, yogic practices are beneficial to Adult Stressed Women to maintain healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) and to overcome anxiety.

 

REFERENCES

1. O'Neill, J., Kamper-DeMarco, K., Chen, X., & Orom, H. (2020). Too stressed to self-regulate? Associations between stress; self-reported executive function, disinhibited eating and BMI in women. Eating Behaviors, 39, 101417.
2. Sarker, M. R., Franks, S., & Caffrey, J. (2013). Direction of post-prandial ghrelin response associated with cortisol response, perceived stress and anxiety, and self-reported coping and hunger in obese women. Behavioural brain research, 257, 197-200.