Health · Medical Research · 3 hrs ago
Yoga before bariatric surgery linked to lower noradrenaline levels
Researchers in Milan studied 40 adults with severe obesity who were preparing for bariatric surgery.
For three months, 20 participants were offered supervised yoga, while 20 received standard care.
The groups were formed based on participants’ willingness and availability, not by random assignment.
After accounting for starting measurements, the yoga group had lower blood levels of noradrenaline, a hormone linked to the body’s fight-or-flight response.
The study did not find a statistically significant change in DNA methylation at the targeted sites in three inflammation-related genes.
The findings suggest yoga may affect a stress-related measure during surgical preparation, but the study design cannot show that yoga caused the difference.
Researchers also planned assessments three months after surgery, but those results are not stated here.
A study in Italy found that bariatric surgery candidates who took part in three months of yoga had lower plasma noradrenaline levels than patients receiving standard care.
The prospective, non-randomized study analyzed 40 adults with severe obesity, split equally between the yoga and control groups.
The researchers found no statistically significant change in DNA methylation at the targeted sites in three inflammatory genes.
The yoga intervention offered 36 supervised sessions, and participants attended an average of 26.
The study examined whether yoga could inform preoperative care for patients preparing for bariatric surgery.
- Who
- Researchers in Italy studied 40 adults with severe obesity preparing for bariatric surgery.
- What
- The study examined yoga’s association with stress hormones, DNA methylation and other measures. The yoga group had lower plasma noradrenaline levels than controls after adjustment for baseline measurements.
- When
- The intervention lasted three months before surgery. The article was published on 2026-10-12.
- Where
- Milan, Italy.
- Why
- Researchers sought to assess yoga’s possible effects during preoperative care and inform surgical prehabilitation.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Researchers enrolled 48 adults with severe obesity; 40 were included in the analysis.
The yoga group was offered 36 supervised sessions of the PRANA_it protocol.
Researchers assessed participants after the three-month intervention.
Researchers conducted a further study evaluation.
- Participants analyzed
- 40 adults
- Study location
- Milan, Italy
- Yoga group
- 20 participants
- Control group
- 20 participants
- Yoga sessions offered
- 36 supervised sessions over three months
- Average yoga attendance
- 26 sessions
Sources
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