The Effects
of a University Yoga Class on Nutritional Habits of
Students
Submitted for publication
A.
Wheeler
Department of Kinesiology,
California State University- San Bernardino, San
Bernardino, CA
Healing Yoga Foundation, San Francisco
Key
Words: Yoga, Nutritional Habits
Objective:
It
appears that the youth of today are living on fast food and
sodas, more so than previous generations. It was
hypothesized that slowing down to take a bi-weekly yoga
class could positively impact students living in this fast
food generation. The purpose of this study was to look at
the eating habits of university students and to determine
if these habits could be positively impacted by
participation in a 10-week yoga class.
Methods:
Seventy-nine
university students, 72 females and 7 males were asked to
fill out a questionnaire pertaining to nutritional habits.
The questionnaire asked questions such as, “Do you eat
breakfast?”, “ How many times per week do you eat fast
food?”, “How many eight-ounce glasses of water do you drink
per day?”, How many 1/2 cup servings of fruits and
vegetables do you consume per day?”, “How many servings of
whole grains do you eat per day?”, “How many 12-ounce sodas
do you drink per day?, “How many 8-ounce servings of coffee
do you drink per day?, and “How many servings of sweets
(candy, cakes and sugary treats) do you eat per day?”. The
students then took at 10-week yoga class, twice a week for
90 minutes, in the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya. This
style of yoga has a heavy emphasis on the synchronization
of breath and movement. At the end of the 10-week quarter,
each student was asked to fill out the same questionnaire
regarding nutritional habits. Data was analyzed using SPSS
14.0 with paired-sample t-tests at a 95% confidence
interval.
Results:
Results
showed that many of the nutritional habits of college
students were impacted positively by taking the 10-week
yoga class. College students reported eating breakfast 1.2
times per week at the beginning and 2.0 times per week by
the end of the quarter. Although this is a trend in the
positive direction, it was not statistically significant.
Unfortunately, the fast-food habits were also difficult to
impact through the yoga intervention. Students reported
eating fast food 2.7 times per week at the start of the
quarter and 2.0 times per week at the end. This was a
promising trend, but not statistically significant. Water
intake was impacted significantly. The average beginning
number of eight-ounce glasses per day were 3.4 and the
ending number of eight-ounce glasses per day was 4.3,
t(71)= -3.7, p<.000. Vegetable intake went up
significantly from 1.1 to 1.6 (1/2 cup) servings per day.
The t-value was t(71)= -4.1, p<.000. Fruit intake
followed a similar pattern. At the beginning of the quarter
the average was 1.4 (1/2 cup) servings per day, t(71)=
-4.4, p< .000. There was no significant change in the
intake of whole grains, however the trend was in a positive
direction, beginning with 1.9 servings per day and ending
with 2.2 servings per day. The amount of soda was reduced
significantly, beginning at .67, 12-ounce sodas per day and
ending the quarter at .34, 12-ounce sodas, t(71)= 3.7,
p<.000. Coffee followed suit with respect to 8-ounce
servings. Students reported drinking .41 servings of coffee
at the beginning and .26 servings after 10 weeks of yoga
class. The t-value for coffee intake was t(71)= 2.0,
p<.05. Last, reported number of sweet treats was reduced
form 1.8 servings per day to .96 per day. This was
statistically significant at the .000 level, t(71)= 5.4,
p<.000.
Conclusion:
These
data demonstrate that a twice a week group yoga class does
have a significant impact on the nutritional habits of
university students in terms of increased water intake,
increased fruit and vegetable intake, reducing sodas and
coffee as well as sweet treats. The habits of eating
breakfast, eating fast food and more whole grains showed
positive trends, but were not shown to be statistically
significant.
