Characteristics of Yoga Users: Results of a National Survey

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There are limited data on the characteristics of yoga users in the U.S. OBJECTIVE:To characterize yoga users, medical reasons for use, perceptions of helpfulness, and disclosure of use to medical professionals. METHODS:Utilizing cross-sectional survey data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Alternative Medicine Supplement (n=31044), we examined correlates of yoga use for health. The estimated prevalence from 2002 NHIS of yoga for health was 5.1% corresponding to over 10 million adults. RESULTS:In 2002, yoga users were predominately Caucasian (85%) and female (76%) with a mean age of 39.5 years. Compared to non-yoga users, yoga users were more likely female (OR 3.76, 95% CI 3.11-4.33); less likely black than white (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.53-0.80); tended to be younger; and more likely college educated (OR 2.70, 95% CI 2.37-3.08). Musculoskeletal conditions (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.42-1.83), mental health conditions (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.22-1.67), severe sprains in the last 12 months (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.22-1.81), and asthma (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.05-1.54) were independently associated with higher yoga use, while hypertension (OR 0.78, 95% CI 0.64-0.95) and chronic obstructive lung disease (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.48-1.00) were associated with lower use. Yoga was most commonly used to treat musculoskeletal or mental health conditions, and most users reported yoga to be helpful for these conditions. A majority of yoga users (61%) felt yoga was important in maintaining health, though only 25% disclosed yoga practice to their medical professional. CONCLUSIONS:We found that yoga users are more likely to be white, female, young and college educated. Yoga users report benefit for musculoskeletal conditions and mental health, indicating that further research on the efficacy of yoga for the treatment and/or prevention of these conditions is warranted.KEY WORDS: yoga; complementary and alternative medicine (CAM); behavioral medicine.

A systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of yoga on weight-related outcomes

“…About 14 million adult Americans (6.1% of the population) reported that yoga had been recommended to them by a physician or therapist (Macy, 2008). Indeed, about 80% of American yoga practitioners (more than 16 million people) reported that they had started practice explicitly to improve their health (Birdee et al, 2008;Clarke et al, 2002;Cramer et al, 2015a); and weight control is among the most frequently stated reasons for starting to practice (Park et al, 2014). While there is evidence to suggest that yoga is effective in promoting weight loss and improving body composition (Rioux and Ritenbaugh, 2013), no systematic review and/or metaanalysis on yoga for weight-related outcomes is available to date.…”

Recruitment and initial interest of men in yoga for smoking cessation: QuitStrong, a randomized control pilot study

“…This discomfort was multifaceted. Quite often, community yoga classes are largely made up of women who have experience with yoga, are familiar with the postures, and are physically fit [19]. Indeed, both of the men who expressed preferences about attending classes with women only attended one yoga class, and this happened despite one man stating that he liked attending classes with women.…”

“…That pilot trial demonstrated a large effect size for smoking cessation for the group that received the yoga intervention (odds ratio=4.56) [18]. While yoga's growing popularity among women in the USA has been documented [19,20], we were unable to identify any research showing trends for men's yoga practice in the USA. It is likely, however, that there are more men practicing yoga than is believed, given the growing popularity of yoga in general [19,20].…”

“…QuitStrong was a supplement to a larger trial comparing these treatments among women. We provided individual smoking cessation sessions and initially offered vouchers to yoga classes in the community (vs. using a cohort/group-based treatment design) based on the notion that recruiting men for yoga would be a slower process, given that yoga is largely practiced by women in the USA currently [19,20,33]. A wellness program was provided as a standard contact-control condition for comparison of recruitment, retention, and smoking outcomes for yoga + CBT participants.…”

“…While yoga's growing popularity among women in the USA has been documented [19,20], we were unable to identify any research showing trends for men's yoga practice in the USA. It is likely, however, that there are more men practicing yoga than is believed, given the growing popularity of yoga in general [19,20]. Further, yoga may have many benefits specifically for men, including enhancements to male reproductive health [21,22].…”