Yoga-based Lifestyle Intervention for Prevention and Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Associated Complications: A Clinical Research Review

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has become a major health challenge in the 21st century. Prevention and management of this metabolic disease could be achieved by healthy lifestyle interventions. Yoga is one such lifestyle intervention practice that has been identified and proved its beneficial effects on T2DM through several studies. The purpose of this comprehensive review was to assess the available evidence from both short-term and long-term studies regarding the beneficial effects of yoga intervention on adult patients with T2DM and the significant impact on diabetes-related risk indices. According to the evidence of past literature used for this review, yoga plays a significant role in the prevention and management of T2DM through the improvement of weight, blood pressure, glycemic parameters, lipid profile, and oxidative stress. Side effects or complications due to yogic practices have not been mentioned up to date in any study conducted. To conclude, most of the findings suggest that yoga may play a vital role in the prevention and management of T2DM, but the lack of standard research studies performed in a diverse population is a big barrier to make evidence-based conclusions. Additional high-quality, long-term investigations should be performed in diverse populations to evaluate the effectiveness of yoga in the prevention and management of T2DM and its complications.