A Pilot Randomized Comparative Study of Short-Term Response to Yoga and Diet Intervention on Myopia among College Students

Uncorrected refractive error is the leading cause of vision impairment in India. Myopia is a common refractive error that can also be defined by a spherical equivalent (SE) ≤−0.5 dioptre (D). To explore the combined effect of Yogic eye exercise and Diet compared with Yogic eye exercise in the management of myopia.

A comparative study with 28 students diagnosed with myopia was randomly assigned into two groups. Group A received a naturopathic diet protocol and Yoga eye exercises, and Group B received Yogic eye exercises. Improvement in myopia was assessed as the mean change in refractive error -Spherical equivalent (SE) from baseline.

The mean SE values were reduced post-intervention in both groups. Within-group comparison of SE pre- and post-intervention showed a significant reduction in SE measures in Yoga and diet (Group A) for the right and left eye at 95% CI with a p-value of 0.003 and 0.01 respectively. There were no significant changes in SE values in the Yoga-only group. When compared between groups, no statistically significant changes were observed in SE.  

The group that followed the diet combined with Yoga showed better improvement in pre-and post-assessments for both eyes. But when compared between the two groups there were no statistically significant changes in SE. Yogic eye exercise proved beneficial in both groups, but the results are better when combined with diet. The findings need to be verified further by conducting a large-scale placebo-controlled clinical trial with a wider population base on diverse age groups.