UConn Study Shows Yoga Helps Preserve Muscle Mass In Older Women
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http://today.uconn.edu/2017/04/yoga-helps-preserve-muscle-mass-older-women-study-says/
A new study by the University of Connecticut finds that practicing yoga may improve protein utilization among older women, and lead to the maintenance of muscle at a time in life when muscle loss is common.
The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, is the first to look at the relationship between yoga and the body’s protein use.
Protein utilization is a key factor in maintaining muscle at any age, but particularly important when it comes to preventing debilitating age-related muscle loss, or sarcopenia, according to author Nancy Rodriguez, a nutritional physiologist.
“Weight-bearing exercise is important as we age,” says Rodriguez. “The purpose of this study was to look at yoga as an alternative form of exercise for maintaining muscle mass with aging.”
Aptly named NAMASTE (Novel Approaches to Maintaining Muscle and Strength), the study followed two groups of healthy women aged 50 to 65 for six months. One group had not done routine exercise for at least a year. The other group was made up of women who practiced Vinyasa yoga at least two times a week for a minimum of a year. Vinyasa yoga is considered a more vigorous practice and includes numerous sun salutations, a movement shown to increase heart rate and improve cardiovascular endurance.
The current paper reports on the first phase of the study, when differences in protein utilization, strength, balance, and body composition between the yoga practitioners and their less active counterparts were determined. Researchers also looked at differences in calorie and protein intake between groups.
A new study by the University of Connecticut finds that practicing yoga may improve protein utilization among older women, and lead to the maintenance of muscle at a time in life when muscle loss is common.
The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, is the first to look at the relationship between yoga and the body’s protein use.
Protein utilization is a key factor in maintaining muscle at any age, but particularly important when it comes to preventing debilitating age-related muscle loss, or sarcopenia, according to author Nancy Rodriguez, a nutritional physiologist.
“Weight-bearing exercise is important as we age,” says Rodriguez. “The purpose of this study was to look at yoga as an alternative form of exercise for maintaining muscle mass with aging.”
Aptly named NAMASTE (Novel Approaches to Maintaining Muscle and Strength), the study followed two groups of healthy women aged 50 to 65 for six months. One group had not done routine exercise for at least a year. The other group was made up of women who practiced Vinyasa yoga at least two times a week for a minimum of a year. Vinyasa yoga is considered a more vigorous practice and includes numerous sun salutations, a movement shown to increase heart rate and improve cardiovascular endurance.
The current paper reports on the first phase of the study, when differences in protein utilization, strength, balance, and body composition between the yoga practitioners and their less active counterparts were determined. Researchers also looked at differences in calorie and protein intake between groups.