ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder of multiple etiology, characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia with disturbance of carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism resulting from defect ininsulin secretion, insulin action or both. Improper lifestyle contributes to the increasing number ofpeople affected with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Systematic reviews on the management ofT2DM in adults through Yoga reported significant improvements in multiple modifiable indices ofdiabetes mellitus management including glycemic control, lipid levels, and body composition.Awareness levels of a condition among the population play a critical role in behaviour change.However, studies related to assessing the awareness and practice of Yoga for managing diseases arelimited. Hence, this study was formulated with the objective of assessing the awareness level andextent of knowledge about diabetes mellitus and its management through yoga. A cross-sectionalsurvey with a sample size of 317 was conducted using a structured questionnaire at 5 districts inTamil Nadu and Kerala. 95% of the study population were aware of diabetes mellitus while 61.2%responded that diabetes can be prevented by regular exercise and healthy diet. 62.4% peopleperceived that yoga practices can prevent diabetes mellitus and 59% mentioned that regular yogapractice can help in controlling diabetes and prevent further complications. Only 13% reported topractice Yoga regularly at least three days a week. Identifying a qualified Yoga trainer was reportedto be a limiting factor for regular yoga practice. The study suggested that there is a need to increasethe access to qualified Yoga professionals at community level. Further large scale studies withrandom sampling method to assess the awareness level and practice of Yoga in different settings isindicated.© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Institute of Transdisciplinary Health Sciencesand Technology and World Ayurveda Foundation. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-NDlicense (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).