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An Arizona State University study using data from more than 55,000 U.S. adults found that yoga and Pilates participation were associated with lower risk of death over about a decade. The observational findings do not show that either practice caused people to live longer, and researchers say other differences between practitioners and non-practitioners may help explain the results.
Researchers at Arizona State University found that adults reporting yoga or Pilates participation had a lower risk of death during follow-up than people who did not report those practices, in an analysis of more than 55,000 U.S. adults. The study examined 21 alternative health practices, but its observational design means it cannot establish that yoga or Pilates caused longer life.
For the analysis, the researchers used nationally representative U.S. adult data linked to mortality records covering about a decade. They reported that yoga participation was associated with a 27% lower risk of death, while Pilates participation was associated with a 36% lower risk. Those figures describe associations in the study population; they are not evidence that either activity reduces an individual’s personal risk by the same amount.
According to the report, the team assessed 21 alternative health practices, and yoga and Pilates were the only two associated with a significantly lower risk of death. The researchers accounted for a number of factors, including income, education, exercise, smoking, body mass index and self-rated health. Statistical adjustment can reduce the influence of measured differences, but it cannot rule out all other explanations.
Study co-author Connor Sheehan, an associate professor at ASU, said the finding stood out because the two practices with the strongest longevity association involve movement. He also cautioned that people able to take part in yoga or Pilates may differ from those who cannot or do not, including in ways the analysis did not capture. The study’s results, as described in the report, do not establish a direct causal effect or show that starting either practice will extend a person’s lifespan.
Movement Practices Show the Signal
The findings offer a measured piece of evidence in a crowded wellness market where many practices are promoted for health or longevity, often with limited long-term data. In this analysis, yoga and Pilates stood apart from the other practices examined, which may help guide further research into how movement-based activities relate to health over time.
For readers, the key point is not that the study proves a longevity benefit. Rather, it identifies an association worth investigating, while leaving open whether the practices themselves, the kinds of people who choose them, or a combination of factors accounts for the difference. The result also does not compare yoga or Pilates with other established forms of physical activity or show which practice is more beneficial.
Sheehan suggested that these activities may combine physical movement, strength and balance work, breath practice, stress management and social contact, particularly for people attending group classes. Those are possible pathways, not effects demonstrated as the cause of the mortality association in this study. The report says the findings could add interest to a growing yoga and Pilates market, but it does not show that the study will change participation or health outcomes.
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A Decade of Mortality Records
The analysis addresses a gap researchers identified in evidence about alternative health practices. Sheehan said that more than 40% of U.S. adults use at least one complementary or alternative practice, while relatively little is known about whether such practices are associated with living longer. The study’s broad comparison covered 21 practices rather than focusing only on yoga and Pilates.
The reported results come from nationally representative survey data linked to death records, not from a trial that assigned participants to take classes. Researchers followed mortality outcomes over about a decade and adjusted for several health and socioeconomic characteristics. That approach can identify patterns across a large population, but participants’ practice choices and other life circumstances are not controlled in the way they would be in a randomized experiment.
Sheehan named possible sources of remaining difference, including health-care access, genetics and economic circumstances. He also raised the possibility that people who are too ill to participate may be less likely to appear among yoga or Pilates practitioners. If so, better underlying health could partly explain the observed association, rather than the practices themselves.
“Of all the alternative health practices out there, the two with the strongest longevity signal are ones rooted in physical movement, not the more exotic-sounding therapies.”
— Connor Sheehan, ASU associate professor and study co-author
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Association Is Not Causation
The central limitation is that the study reports an association, not a demonstrated cause-and-effect relationship. People who practice yoga or Pilates may differ from non-practitioners in health, income, health-care access, genetics or other characteristics. Although the researchers adjusted for several measured factors, the report does not indicate that every relevant difference was measured or accounted for.
It is also unclear how much of the reported association could reflect people’s health before they began a practice. As Sheehan noted, adults with serious health problems may be less able to participate, which could make practitioners appear to have lower mortality even if the activity itself is not responsible. The findings do not establish a specific biological mechanism, the amount or frequency of practice associated with the results, or whether one activity has a stronger effect than the other.
The report provides percentage risk estimates but does not supply an absolute risk difference for an individual or the comparison details needed to translate those estimates into a personal prediction. The results should not be read as a guarantee of longer life or as a substitute for medical advice.
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Research Needed to Test Effects
The next step is further research that can test whether the association persists across different populations and study designs. Longer follow-up and clearer information about frequency, duration and timing of participation could help researchers determine which patterns are associated with outcomes and whether changes in practice correspond with changes in health.
Studies that better account for participants’ health before they start, as well as access to care and other lifestyle factors, could help address the possibility that healthier people are more likely to participate. Randomized trials may answer some questions about intermediate health measures, although a direct test of lifespan effects would require long follow-up and careful design. The report does not announce a specific follow-up study or timeline.
Sheehan has argued for more study of wellness behaviors as they evolve, including practices beyond yoga and Pilates. For now, the available finding is a population-level association from an observational analysis: yoga and Pilates participation were linked with lower mortality risk, while whether either practice itself extends lifespan remains unresolved.
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Key Questions
What did the study find about yoga and Pilates?
In an analysis of more than 55,000 U.S. adults, yoga participation was associated with a 27% lower risk of death and Pilates with a 36% lower risk during follow-up of about a decade. The study examined 21 alternative health practices; only these two had a reported significant association with lower mortality.
Does the study prove yoga or Pilates makes people live longer?
No. The research was observational, so it found an association rather than proof of causation. Differences in participants’ health, circumstances or access to care could partly explain the results.
What factors did researchers account for?
The report says the researchers adjusted for factors including income, education, exercise, smoking, body mass index and self-rated health. Such adjustments do not rule out every possible source of bias or unmeasured difference.
Should people start yoga or Pilates to extend their lifespan?
The study does not show that starting either activity will extend an individual’s life. People considering a new exercise routine should choose an activity suited to their abilities and seek professional guidance when they have existing health concerns.
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