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

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.