Yoga linked with "mindful eating"

Practicing yoga regularly has been linked with mindful eating and healthier weight according to research published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The study found a strong association between yoga practice and people who ate mindfully – those aware of why they ate and stopped eating when full – but found no association between other types of physical activity, such as the gym or running, and mindful eating.

Those who ate mindfully were found to weigh less than those who ate mindlessly, who ate when not hungry or in response to anxiety or depression.

A spokesperson for the research said that the weight-loss effect had "more to do with increased body awareness, specifically, a sensitivity to hunger and satiety than the physical activity of yoga practice itself."