Skip to main content

About 1 in 6 U.S. Adults Practice Yoga

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on June 12, 2024.

By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 12, 2024 -- Nearly 1 in every 6 U.S. adults have engaged in the ancient practice of yoga over the past year, new government data shows.

In fact, as Americans increasingly turn to alternative or complementary health approaches, "the largest increases [have been] in the practice of yoga," noted researchers Nazik Elgaddal and Julie Weeks. They're with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Their new report is based on 2022 data from the ongoing National Health Interview Survey.

According to the data, yoga remains more popular among women (23.3% reporting past-year use) than men (10.3%).

It's also more popular among the young (ages 18 to 44), with 21.3% in that age group saying they practiced yoga, than the middle-aged (14.1%) or those aged 65 or older (8%).

The well-off are also more likely to engage in yoga than less affluent folks. Overall, 23% of people in the survey's highest income bracket said they practiced yoga versus 10.4% of those at the lowest income level.

As to why Americans are engaging in the ages-old Indian practice, about 80% of yoga practitioners cited "restoring overall health," the CDC team found. That was especially true for folks ages 45 to 64.

Meditation is often being performed in conjunction with yoga: Just over 57% of all practitioners said they meditated as part of yoga practice. Lower-income people were more likely to engage in meditation and yoga together compared to better-off folks, the data showed.

Pain relief was another reason cited by many who practiced yoga: About 29% said they engaged in yoga to help "treat or manage pain," the survey found.

Again, lower-income people who engaged in yoga were more likely to say that they used the practice to ease pain compared to higher-income people.

The findings were published June 12 as an NCHS Data Brief.

Sources

  • NCHS Data Brief, June 12, 2024

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted June 2024

Read this next

Childhood Exposure to Air Pollution May Trigger Bronchitis Years Later

FRIDAY, June 28, 2024 -- Exposure to air pollution as a child increases an adult’s risk of bronchitis, a new study warns. Young adults with bronchitis symptoms tended to...

Bird Flu Virus Stays Active on Cow Milking Equipment for at Least One Hour

FRIDAY, June 28, 2024 -- The spread of H5N1 avian flu to dairy cows has health experts and many Americans on edge, and now a new study finds the virus stays viable on milking...

Who Do You Look to as Your Health 'Role Model'?

THURSDAY, June 27, 2024 -- Role models are important in health as well as in life, but such inspiration is more likely to come from your mom than a celebrity like Dwayne...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.