Effectiveness of Liquid Fasting with Yoga and Naturopathy Treatments in Reducing Metabolic and Cardiovascular Risks in Obesity.

CONTEXT

Obesity is associated with chronic diseases, including metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Fasting is commonly employed by obese people to reduce their weight. Likewise, yoga and naturopathy (YN) that include liquid fasting (LF) have been shown to be beneficial in reducing weight for people with metabolic disorders. However, the safety of LF during YN treatments and its effects on metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors haven't yet been reported.

OBJECTIVE

The study intended to evaluate the safety of LF during YN treatments and its effects on metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors in people with obesity.

DESIGN

A single-group, pretest-and-posttest design was adopted for the study.

SETTING

The study took place in a YN hospital located in South India.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were 176 obese people aged between 18 and 65 years.

INTERVENTION

Together with YN treatments, all participants underwent LF using lime juice with jaggery, ash guard juice, vegetable soup, buttermilk, and kokum juice for a period of 5 consecutive days.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Assessments such as body weight, body mass index (BMI), fat mass, lipid profile, and blood pressure were taken at baseline and postintervention.

RESULTS

Participants showed a significant reduction in body weight, BMI, fat mass, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP).

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that LF during YN treatment canbe effective in reducing metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors in people with obesity.