Yoga and eating disorders: is there a place for yoga in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviours?

Abstract

This paper addresses the question: what can the practice of yoga offer the field of eating disorders in terms of prevention and treatment? Regarding prevention, preliminary research suggests that yoga may be effective in decreasing risk factors, and increasing protective factors, for eating disorders. Yoga was also found to be helpful in a small number of treatment studies. However, findings are not consistent across studies, which are limited in number, and due to the preliminary nature of this body of research, most studies have weaknesses in their designs (e.g. observational design, no control groups, or small sample sizes). The basic tenets of yoga, anecdotal reports of its effectiveness, its high accessibility and low cost, and initial research findings suggest that yoga may offer promise for the field of eating disorders. Two options are suggested for prevention: (1) eating disorder prevention can be integrated into ongoing yoga classes and (2) yoga can be integrated into eating disorder prevention programmes. Regarding treatment, it is important to examine the effectiveness of different teaching styles and practices for different eating disorders. Potential harms of yoga should also be explored. Further research, using stronger study designs, such as randomised, controlled trials, is needed.