The practice of yoga and associations with embodiment, body image, internalized weight stigma, and disordered eating in a population-based sample of young adults

This study explores the prevalence of yoga practice and associations with embodiment, internalized weight stigma, body satisfaction, unhealthy weight control behaviors, and binge eating in a diverse population-based sample. Data were collected as part of the Eating and Activity over Time (EAT) study. Participants include 994 adults (mean age: 27.6; range: 24–35), with high percentages from marginalized ethnic/racial and low-income backgrounds. Cross-sectional and five-year longitudinal analyses were conducted. Approximately one-fifth (18.6 %) of participants practiced yoga in the past year, with 11.8 % practicing regularly (≥ 30 min per week in the past year). The prevalence of practicing yoga regularly differed across gender (highest in women and gender minorities), education (higher at higher levels of education), and BMI (lower in yoga practitioners), but not across ethnicity/race or age. Practicing yoga regularly was consistently associated with greater embodiment and, in most analyses, with lower internalized weight stigma and higher body satisfaction. Disordered eating behaviors were equally high, or higher, among regular yoga practitioners as compared to non-practitioners, with some differences across analytic models. Findings provide support for the connection between yoga and embodiment, as well as embodiment and disordered eating. Yoga that promotes a sense of embodiment is likely to help reduce disordered eating.