# Appraisement of aerobic capacity among first medical students following a regular yogic regime

## TL;DR

This study shows that practicing yoga regularly improves aerobic fitness and heart rate in first-year medical students.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates that a daily yoga routine significantly enhances cardiopulmonary efficiency in young medical students.

## Key findings

- VO2 max increased significantly from 35.4 to 40.1 ml/kg/min after two months of yoga.
- Resting heart rate decreased significantly from 75.3 to 68.5 beats per minute.
- Yoga improved aerobic capacity and overall cardiopulmonary efficiency in medical students.

## Abstract

The heavy academic load among medical students can be a stressful factor affecting not only the physical fitness of the medical
student but also his or her mental well-being. Since time immemorial, yogic exercises have been found to decrease both physical and
psychological stresses and increase cardiorespiratory fitness. Therefore, it is of interest to assess the effect of a yogic routine on
cardiopulmonary efficiency and aerobic fitness as measured by treadmill performance in first-year MBBS students. A prospective
interventional study involving 100 MBBS students within the age group of 17 to 20 years was conducted. In each participant, the baseline
cardiopulmonary parameters, VO2 max, were recorded before and after two months of intervention with yoga (1 hour/day). SPSS was used to
perform the statistical analysis. There was a significant improvement in VO2 max (35.4 ± 5.2 to 40.1 ± 4.8 ml/kg/min,
p < 0.001) and rest heart rate (75.3 ± 8.1 to 68.5 ± 6.9 beats/min, p < 0.001). Practice of yoga regularly improves
the aerobic capacity and cardiopulmonary efficiency of the student who studies MBBS. Yoga may help students better their well-being and
academic performance if practiced as part of the MBBS curriculum.