Many studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of hatha yoga to reduces stress and emotional eating. Emotional eating, also referred to as affective eating, is when an individual over consumes food in order to release themselves from stress or negative emotions (Hopkins et al., 2016). The mindfulness aspects of yoga allow the acceptance of one’s feelings and the ability to regulate them, which intern reduces the urge to emotionally eat. Medina et al. (2015), Hopkins et al., (2016), Gouveia et al., (2014) and Hoppener et al., (2018) elaborate on this concept and how effective it is. Other studies, such as, “Body Image and Disordered-Eating Behaviors Among Yoga and Pilates Participants,” (2012), propose an oppositional view on this matter. This paper examines the concepts of hatha yoga and mindfulness in comparison to regular yoga for the treatment of stress and emotional eating.
Medina et al. ‘s (2015) investigated how hatha yoga can increase DT in individuals with low distress tolerance, which means the lack of ability to handle stress, it was found that the practice can improve DT and result in decrease in emotional eating. Two main tests, one for measuring distress tolerance called, “Intervention Effects on Distress Tolerance,” and for measuring emotional eating called, “Intervention Effects on Emotional Eating,” were responsible for the results (Medina et al., 2015). In the study, 52 women, ages 18 years and older, that were about to be diagnosed as having eating disorders or obesity were split to either an 8-week hatha yoga program or a waitlist group (Medina et al., 2015). The yoga group had a higher increase in distress tolerance than 79 percent of the individuals in the waitlisted group. The yoga group also had a higher decrease in emotional eating than 82 percent of the waitlisted group (Medina et al., 2015).
From this research, it is clearly evident that individuals who have low distress tolerance, they can use hatha yoga to increase their ability to deal with stress and intern help with their emotional eating (Medina et al., 2015). The researchers did mention, however that there should be additional research done to test whether the physical aspect of the yoga could have anything in particular to do with these results (Medina et al., 2015). The physical aspect would involve the excitement or enjoyment of engaging in the physical activity, such as the different postures (Medina et al., 2015). Medina et al. (2015) also mentioned the breathing exercises in yoga allows participants to learn to regulate their emotions. This happens when they are told to focus on how they feel, not to react them and not to judge their feelings (Medina et al., 2015).
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Hopkins et al. (2016) studied how hatha yoga can decrease cortisol reactivity to stress, which are secretions of hormones that can raise the adrenaline feelings during stress in women, and help them to not binge eat. Binge eating is a form of emotional eating because individuals who cannot handle their stress engage in it as a coping method (Medina et al., 2015). In the study, 52 females of the ages of 25 to 49 years were split into two groups. The first was the 8 -week yoga program and the second was the waitlist (Hopkins et al., 2016). At the end of each week, the two groups took an online self- reported test to measure their cortisol reactivity and binge eating frequency (Hopkins et al., 2016). Results provided that the yoga group found decreases of cortisol reactivity both during and after the yoga program compared to waitlist group (Hopkins et al., 2016). The yoga group also had a significant decrease in binge eating frequency compared to the waitlist group both during and after the program (Hopkins et al., 2016).
This research shows that hatha yoga has the ability to treat women who have high reactors to stress, rather than low reactors to stress (Hopkins et al., 2016). By decreasing the amount of cortisol secretions to stress, it gave the ability to refrain from binge eating. The reason for this is because when cortisol reactivity to stress is low, there is no immense feeling to relieve the stress (Hopkins et al., 2016). Thus, hatha yoga’s meditation practice of self-regulating emotions and being excepting to the emotions allows individuals to refrain from unhealthy eating habits. This study, Hopkins et al., (2016) along with Medina et al., (2015) show that hatha yoga has benefits for the community that has both emotional and emotional eating disorders.
Another article by Doctor Godsey (2013) also mentions how yoga and its meditation portion using mindfulness can help those with emotional eating. When Godsey was searching for resources that involved yoga and its component of mindfulness through meditation, along with the impact on eating disorders in the databases, there were anywhere from 11 to 23 results showing how productive it was (Godsey, 2013). The resources such as these had confirmed how successful yoga’s use of mindfulness was at helping individuals with these disorders, such as over consuming food (Godsey, 2013). The practice encourages individuals to eat healthier food and practice taking their time with eating. It also helps individuals to relieve their stress, which is a main factor in emotional eating. As well, the article discusses a study that proves the benefits of yoga overall helping with emotional eating (Godsey, 2013). In the study, middle schooler girls were involved in which half of them participated in a two -year yoga mindfulness program. Results showed that the participants had less urges to emotional eat compared to those who were not in the program (Godsey, 2013).
From this research, we can see how effective yoga can be to help those who suffer from emotional eating disorders. It helps individuals to relieve their stress, which can stop the act of the disorder (Godsey, 2013). Yoga’s teaching of eating slowly and the consumption of healthier foods is another way that it helps those to refrain from un healthy eating. Un healthy eating is also a main factor involved in emotional eating (Godsey, 2013).
Similarly, Gouveia et al., (2014) studied the effects of Mindfulness, self-compassion and the difficulties emotional regulation with emotional eating. In the study, 245 adolescents that were 12-18 years of age with either overweight or at risk for obesity were involved (Gouveia et al., 2014). The mindfulness and self-compassion had been proven to help regulate emotions and thus, help to not engage in emotional eating (Gouveia et al., 2014). However, the strongest component within the two was self-compassion (Gouveia et al., 2014). Researchers believe the case for this is the ability to create a feeling of self-comfort that is forgiving, thus having a better connection with emotional regulation and eating (Gouveia et al., 2014).
In further support of this finding, Hoppener et al., (2018) had examined a study about Mindfulness and its effects on depressive symptoms with emotional eating, whether it had the ability to mediate it. 417 Dutch participants, ages 18 to 35 that were either pre-obese or obese were involved, in which two thirds were woman (Hoppener et al., 2018). Five subcomponents mindfulness were used (Hoppener et al., 2018). A Dutch self- reported questionnaire called,”Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ),” to measure all mindfulness subcomponents along with a Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire called, “DEBQ” was used to measure emotional eating (Hoppener et al., 2018). The results showed that “acting with awareness,” was the only subcomponent to regulate the depressive feelings, which helped reduce emotional eating (Hoppener et al., 2018). This outcome is what researchers mention brings the importance to the matter of mindfulness in its abilities to treat patients with psychological stress or depressive disorders, along with eating disorders (Hoppener et al., 2018).
Furthermore, from this research supports the reason for psychologist to use both hatha yoga and mindfulness to target individuals who suffer from psychology disorders involving stress or hard times regulating emotions. This can thus help prevent patients from engaging in emotional eating. In contrast to this hypothesis is an article that proposes the opposite about the yoga.
In the study, “Body Image and Disordered-Eating Behaviors Among Yoga and Pilates Participants,” (2012)., about eating disorders and body image among yoga or Pilates participants, there was no significant difference as reported from the previous studies. 1257 women and 1030 men, ages 18-29 were included in the study. Results of study were taken from Project EAT-III, which examines the physical wellbeing and dietary of habits of young adults (“Body Image and Disordered-Eating Behaviors Among Yoga and Pilates Participants,” 2012). The results from the test were that participants in both the yoga and the Pilates program experienced either equal or increased risk for emotional eating (Body Image and Disordered-Eating Behaviors Among Yoga and Pilates Participants,” 2012). This accounted for both the women and the men. However, males were at a higher risk than women for binge eating behaviors (“Body Image and Disordered-Eating Behaviors Among Yoga and Pilates Participants,” 2012).
One clear difference from this study, (Body Image and Disordered-Eating Behaviors Among Yoga and Pilates Participants,” 2012) and the other previous studies was the particular activity. For example, all sources leading to positive effect with emotional eating and stress tolerance involved heated hatha yoga and its mindfulness component. Therefore, it is the specific genre of yoga that can aid in eating disorders and stress. Although, further research should be tested whether there are other types of yoga besides heated hatha yoga that are perhaps similar and can offer similar positive outcomes.
In conclusion, heated hatha yoga has been proven to aid in psychological eating disorders and stress disorders. It involves mindfulness activities which are crucial to the positive effects from the articles as it teaches to take a minute to think about emotions and learn to accept them then to compress them. Thus, it can help those who engage in emotional eating to create a healthier diet. The study’s in particular to hatha yoga should include both men and women to test if the effects would be the same. Also, the age variance should be closer and less farther apart, as the ages ranged from early adulthood to late adulthood. This may or may not have a further effect on hath yoga interventions. Lastly, as mentioned above, further research other similar types of yoga should be conducted to see if hatha yoga is not the only genre of its kind to offer these unique abilities.
