According to a recent government survey, higher number of kids and adults are practicing yoga in the United States. The survey’s data revealed that over the period of past 10 years, the percentage of US adults practicing yoga has increased from 5.15 in 2002 to 9.5% in 2012.

The survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that in 2012, about 21 million adults practiced yoga. This figure was almost double the number of people who said they were practicing yoga in 2002.

They survey also showed that the yoga is also gaining popularity among children between age group of 4 to 17. As percentage of children who do yoga increased from 2.3% in 2007 to 3.1% in 2012.

Researchers associated with the survey said that the tremendous rise in yoga practice might have been due to increase in the number of yoga studios and instructors in the recent years.

Dr. Josephine P. Briggs, director of the NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, said, “The survey data suggest that consumers are paying attention to medical evidence and using it to inform their decisions”.

According to the survey, overall, about one-third, nearly 34%, of adults and 11.6% of children used some form of complementary medicine in 2012.

The most popular type of complementary medicine in the survey was taking dietary supplements, besides vitamins or minerals.

The survey also revealed that use of fish oil among adults has increased from 4.8% in 2007 to 7.8% in 2012. And among children the fish oil consumption has increased from 0.7 % to 1.1 %, in 2007 and 2012 respectively.

As per researchers associated with the study the new findings of the study are based on data gathered from more than 88,000 US adults who were surveyed in 2002, 2007 and 2012.