Pause Well Rationale

    An estimated 60% of Americans have at least one lifestyle-related chronic disease (cardiovascular disease (CVD), some cancers, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension), as defined by the US Department of Health and Human Services (CDC, 2024). That is 129 million people, enough to fill over 2.5 million yoga studios. Many of these diseases disproportionately affect postmenopausal women. For example, before age 50, men have a higher prevalence of hypertension than women (37.2% compared with 29.4%, respectively), but by age 60, women surpass men (66.8% in women compared to 58.5% in men) (CDC, 2017). Due in part to estrogen losses, menopause is associated with an increased prevalence of obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, dementia, depression/anxiety, and osteoporosis (Erdélyi et al., 2023). The overall health and well-being of postmenopausal women have become a major national public health concern, with CVD alone accounting for 45% of older women's deaths and costing $120 billion annually, pointing to a dire need for proper nutrition and lifestyle guidance to enhance their health status (Erdélyi et al., 2023).

    In Dupage County, IL, CVD is the leading cause of death (IDPH, 2022). Many of the yoga students at CorePower Yoga (CPY) are approaching menopause and facing its related symptoms and health setbacks, like rising blood glucose, high cholesterol, depression/anxiety, and high blood pressure, despite having a regular yoga practice. According to our surveys, CPY students are eager to achieve their health goals holistically. Studies align with our findings; yoga practitioners ages 45–64 are likelier to practice yoga to restore overall health (Rao et al., 2023). Having already adopted a yoga practice, 80% of those we surveyed felt confident they could adhere to other health-promoting habits if they "knew" them to be healthy. However, they expressed a need for trusted nutrition information and sound strategies for overcoming barriers to eating healthy, like knowledge, cost, motivation, cravings, and time. 

    Our research agrees that there is a need for sound nutrition advice; the yoga community women we surveyed reported eating less than the RDAs for whole grains, fruit, and vegetables and attributed over 50% of their diet to high-processed foods. Furthermore, few could correctly identify a Mediterranean diet, and many experiment with fad diets that exclude essential food disease nutrients (Tahreem et al., 2022). This problem, a lack of nutrition knowledge and adherence to essential RDAs, could be effectively addressed by providing nutrition education for menopausal women in the Dupage County yoga community.

     The combined effect of yoga and a healthy diet could be the key to holistically relieving menopausal symptoms and health risks in women. Recent studies found that a short six-month diet and yoga regimen led to significant drops in blood pressure, fasting glucose, cholesterol, and triglycerides among females ages 40-59 (Rao et al., 2023; Saboo et al., 2024). A missed opportunity exists to bring these two health-enhancing, menopause-combatting strategies together.

    Pause Well provides a solution by addressing the unique nutritional needs of active women approaching midlife within a yoga studio setting to keep women thriving on and off their mats. The program offers a comprehensive, sequential series of four group classes in nutrition education and practical lifestyle change strategies strengthened by mindfulness tools like meditation, along with access to a Facebook group page for added resources and social support. 

    Pause Well will be successful because it utilizes evidence-based diet and behavior interventions that are shown to improve women's healthy eating knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, self-regulation, and eating habits (Rathnayake et al., 2019). Interventions that include social support and a spiritual aspect, such as yoga, only enhance these outcomes (Saboo et al., 2024). 

    Quality midlife nutrition education is not just necessary but empowering. The Pause Well program will help women reclaim control of their bodies, achieve their fitness goals, and reduce the prevalence of long-term disease risk among women while growing a vibrant yoga community. Click here for the complete Pause Well rationale and list of references: Pause Well Rationale