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An Arizona State University analysis of more than 55,000 U.S. adults found yoga and Pilates practice was associated with lower risk of death over roughly a decade. The observational results do not show that either practice causes longer life, and researchers say other factors could help explain the association.
Yoga and Pilates were associated with a lower risk of death in an Arizona State University analysis of more than 55,000 U.S. adults, according to a report by Athletech News. The study compared 21 alternative health practices, but its observational design means the findings do not establish that either activity extends lifespan.
Researchers used nationally representative data on more than 55,000 adults and linked it to mortality records covering about a decade. Among the 21 practices examined, yoga was associated with a 27% lower risk of death and Pilates with a 36% lower risk, the report said. The supplied account does not specify the comparison group or provide further detail about how practice was measured.
The analysis considered factors including income, education, exercise, smoking, body mass index and participants’ self-rated health. Even after accounting for those variables, the researchers cautioned that unmeasured differences could affect the results. The findings describe an association in the study data, not proof that practicing yoga or Pilates caused the lower mortality risk.
The other 19 alternative health practices examined were not reported as having a significant association with lower mortality. The source does not list all of those practices or provide detailed estimates for each one, so the results should not be read as a definitive ranking of wellness activities.
Movement Practices Show the Strongest Signal
The findings stand out because only two of the 21 practices examined were linked to significantly lower mortality risk. That gives researchers a specific signal to investigate further, amid growing public interest in wellness and longevity approaches whose long-term evidence remains limited.
Yoga and Pilates involve movement, and study co-author Connor Sheehan told Athletech News they may combine physical activity, strength and balance work with breathing and stress-management practices. He also pointed to the potential social component of taking classes. Those features offer possible explanations for the association, but the study, as described in the report, does not establish which elements matter or whether they account for the results.
For readers, the central takeaway is not a promise of extra years of life. The study adds population-level evidence about the relationship between these practices and mortality, while leaving open whether the association reflects the practices themselves or differences among the people who choose them.
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A Study of Alternative Health Practices
The research was prompted by limited long-term evidence on a broad range of complementary and alternative health practices, even as Americans use them to support health and well-being. Sheehan told Athletech News that more than 40% of U.S. adults use at least one such practice, citing examples including acupuncture, chiropractic care and specialized diets.
The study’s focus was mortality across a decade, rather than a direct test of whether a specific practice improves health or longevity. The report says the researchers adjusted for several personal and health factors, but observational data cannot rule out every difference between people who practice yoga or Pilates and those who do not.
Sheehan also described the findings as a reason to study changing wellness habits more carefully, including newer practices such as cold plunging and red-light therapy. The report provides no finding from this study about those newer practices.
“Maybe the sickest people are too unhealthy to do yoga or Pilates to begin with, so the practice looks protective when really it’s just excluding the least healthy.”
— Connor Sheehan, speaking to Athletech News
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Association Does Not Prove Longer Life
The study’s reported percentages do not show that yoga or Pilates directly prevented deaths. People who practice them may differ from non-practitioners in ways the analysis did not fully capture, including healthcare access, genetics, economic circumstances or other health-related behaviors. Sheehan also raised the possibility that people in poorer health may be less able to take part in these activities.
The source account does not provide the study’s full methods, the number of deaths, confidence intervals, or detailed results for each of the other 19 practices. It also does not specify how often participants practiced yoga or Pilates, or whether the analysis distinguished among different types or levels of participation. Those details are needed to assess how precise and broadly applicable the estimates are.
It remains unclear whether the reported association would hold in other populations or under a study design that can better test cause and effect. The findings should not be treated as a guarantee that either practice will extend an individual’s life.
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More Research Needed on Wellness Habits
The next step is further research that tests whether the association persists across different groups and accounts for factors that could influence both participation and mortality. Studies with clearer measures of how often and how long people practice could help explain whether the relationship varies with participation, though this report does not identify a specific follow-up study or timeline.
Sheehan called for more scientific study of wellness behaviors as they change, including practices that have gained attention in recent years. For now, the Arizona State findings offer a limited observational signal about yoga and Pilates, not a causal conclusion or a forecast of how long practitioners will live.
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Key Questions
What did the Arizona State study find?
In an analysis of more than 55,000 U.S. adults, yoga was associated with a 27% lower risk of death and Pilates with a 36% lower risk over mortality follow-up covering about a decade, according to Athletech News. The analysis examined 21 alternative health practices.
Does the study prove yoga or Pilates makes people live longer?
No. The findings show an association, not cause and effect. The study’s observational design cannot rule out other differences between participants and non-participants that may have influenced mortality.
Which other practices were studied?
The report says researchers examined 21 alternative health practices, but it does not list all of them. It reports that yoga and Pilates were the only practices associated with significantly lower mortality risk.
What factors did researchers account for?
The analysis considered income, education, exercise, smoking, body mass index and self-rated health. The researchers said other factors, such as healthcare access, genetics and economic circumstances, could still help explain the association.
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