Physical Activity, Yoga Practice, and Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Study among Urban Working Professionals

Abstract

There is an increase in the exposure of urban working professionals to occupational stress, lengthy working hours and individuals being exposed to sedentary lifestyles that adversely affect their physical and psychological health. The cross-sectional study with the current objective was to analyse the correlation between physical activity, yoga practise, and quality of life (QoL) among urban working India-based adults. Four hundred and twenty (420) people aged between 25 50 years, working in various industries, namely information technology, finance, healthcare, and education were recruited using stratified random sampling of major cities, like Chennai, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. The participants filled self-report questionnaires, such as the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short version (IPAQ-SF) to assess their levels of activity and the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF) to assess the level of QoL under four dimensions, including physical health, psychological well-being, social relationships, and environment. The respondents were grouped into three: the regular yoga attendees (at least 3 classes a week), physically active non-yoga attendees (at least 150 minutes per week of moderate activity) and sedentary individuals (less than 150 minutes per week). One-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation showed that the physically active and the yoga-practising groups had significantly better QoL scores in all the domains as compared to the sedentary participants (p < 0.01). Additionally, the yoga participants showed better psychological and social health implying that there were more mental health advantages of yoga compared to overall physical activity. The analysis of correlation revealed a significant positive correlation between the level of physical activity and overall QoL (r = 0.61), as well as the frequency of yoga use and psychological well-being (r = 0.68). The results suggest the significance of the systematic implementation of yoga and fitness programmes, as a part of the workplace wellness initiative to reduce stress levels, boost productivity, and advance the overall well-being of urban residents. The paper highlights the necessity of the policy-based intervention promoting active living to enhance the quality of life and mental strength among the rapidly urbanising working population in India.