Downward dogs: perfect companions for (women’s) eating disorder treatment?

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Mind-body exercise has already been shown to reduce the prevalence of eating disordered symptoms, and offer a boost to body satisfaction, among women. Now there’s more good news: a clinical trial has demonstrated that practicing yoga can also offer major benefits to those actually being treated for diagnosed eating disorders.

The study, published this month in the Journal of Adolescent Health, evaluated 54 patients (50 girls and 4 boys) between the ages of 11 and 21. All participants were enrolled in out-patient treatment for an eating disorder, which consisted of routine visits with a counselor and a nutrition specialist. Half the patients were also enrolled in an eight-week yoga program to compliment their traditional therapy.

Every patient saw some decrease in eating disordered symptoms over eight weeks, but those who weren’t enrolled in yoga experienced a recurrence of symptoms after twelve weeks of treatment. And those with a yoga practice? Symptoms were controlled, healthy weight was maintained and preoccupation with food was minimized.

Considering the soaring cost of eating disorder treatment, and the difficulty of even obtaining a clinical diagnosis, this study should offer at least some peace of mind to those trying to come back from an eating disorder. Although I tend toward extremes of daily yoga and no yoga at all, when I am consistent, I’ve found it immeasurably helpful at tuning into my physical self, and appreciating how capable a healthy body can be.

I’m grateful that this kind of research is being done, but if there’s a bigger study to follow, I can only hope that researchers see the value in adding more men to the participant list, or exclusively studying the relationship of men with eating disorders to yoga. Something Fishy, an online eating disorder resource, estimates that 10 percent of eating disorder sufferers are male. But yoga (much like eating disorders) is often – wrongly – associated exclusively with women.

Would the “yoga for chicks” stigma curb the effectiveness of a yogic treatment for men with eating disorders? Hard to tell: that initial study I mentioned was done exclusively with female participants, and only four men were involved in this one.