Effects of Surya Namaskar yoga on perceived stress, anthropometric parameters, and physical fitness in overweight and obese female university students: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Stress and sedentary lifestyles negatively impact the physical fitness of overweight and obese female university students. Physical activity has been shown to promote psychological as well as physical wellness. However, the effects of Surya Namaskar (SN) yoga on stress and physical fitness remain unclear.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the physical fitness, anthropometric measures, and perceived stress between the SN yoga training program group and the control group.

Methods: In a randomized controlled study, 44 overweight and obese female university students participated. For 8 weeks, the exercise group received training in SN yoga, whereas the control group was not permitted to participate in any form of exercise. At baseline and after 8 weeks of training, all participants completed the Thai Perceived Stress Scale-10 (T-PSS-10), and assessed the body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio, body fat percentage, maximum oxygen consumption (VO₂max), and muscle strength and flexibility. We used the dependent t-test or Wilcoxon sign rank test to examine the differences between the T-PSS-10 and physical fitness within each group. The statistical differences of all parameters between the two groups were compared using an independent t-test or a Mann-Whitney U test. A p- $\text{value}<0.05$ was considered statistically significant.

Results: Compared to the baseline, the SN yoga group's post-training period had a significant increase ( $p<0.05$ ) in forward back flexibility, hand grip strength, leg strength, and VO₂max, while a significant decrease ( $p<0.05$ ) in T-PSS-10 scores and BMI. In addition, we found a significant difference between the both groups in forward back flexibility and T-PSS-10 scores in the post-training period ( $p=0.015$ and $p=0.009$ , respectively).

Conclusion: This study's findings demonstrated that SN yoga is a useful exercise for enhancing overweight and obese female university students' perceived stress scales and physical fitness.

Keywords: Health promotion; mental health; physical activity; physical health; yoga.

Fig. 1.

Flow diagram for recruitment of participants.

Fig. 2.

Comparisons of the T-PSS-10 scores, anthropometric parameters, and physical fitness between the SN yoga group ($n=21$) and a control group ($n=22$) at baseline and after 8 weeks of experimental period. Notes: BMI, body mass index; kg/m², kilograms per square meter; ml/kg/min, millilitres per kilogram per minute; T-PSS-10, the Thai version of the Perceived Stress Scale-10; VO₂max, maximum oxygen consumption. *Significant difference between groups, p-$\mathrm{\text{value}}<0.05$.