Over Weight
09.14.2009 | Obesity Disorders | Dr S Senthil Kumar
• Obesity is the accumulation of excessive fat in the body.
• Ayurveda cells it ‘Athi – Sthulam’.
• Agni mandhya increase makes one eat more, which becomes fat and stays in the body leading to obesity.
Ayurveda gives the following causes
(i) Lack of physical exercises, laziness
(ii) Sleeping in the afternoon
(iii) The diet and lifestyle which increases kapha
(iv) Consuming sweets, too much of fatty foods
• A man needs per day 2800 calories of food and a woman, 2500 calories. When this limit is exceeded, body weight increases.
Risk factors
Obesity may lead to serious and chronic diseases like
a) Diabetes mellitus
b) High Blood Pressure
c) Ischemic heart diseases
d) Stroke
e) Varicose veins
f) Impotency
g) Back ache, Joint pains
h) Breathing problems
i) Depression
• To distinguish between over-weight and obesity, the body mass index (BMI) is used.
• BMI – It is weight in kilograms multiplied by 10,000 divided by height, in centimeters squared.
• For example, let us assume that your weight is 50 kilos; and height is 160 cm. Your BMI is 50×10000 divided by 160×160 = 19.53
If your BMI is
| less than 18.5 | Under weight |
| 18.5 to 24.9 | Normal weight |
| 25 to 29.9 | Over weight |
| 30 to 34.9 | A little obese |
| 35 to 39.9 | Medium obese |
| Above 40 | Obesity |
• Hip measurement: Use a tape to measure your hip an inch above navel. Normal Girth is 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women. Any thing above these is indication of over weight / obesity. “Tyre” around hip/stomach is not healthy and must be attended to.
• Healthy weight: Chart given below
Management of obesity
• Burn the excess calories you eat, by physical activities. Best exercise for obesity is walking.
• Resort to swimming
• Oil massages, dry massage using weight reducing medicinal powder are to be undertaken.
• A combination of oil massage, Followed by wet fomentation and culminated with dry massage is a good ayurvedic remedy for obesity. It helps the skin also
• Horse gram, Barley, Honey with water etc are good
• Mix 2 spoonful honey with 1 tsp lime juice and drink it on empty stomach in the morning.
• Drink plenty of water
• Do not sleep in the after noon.
• Foods prepared with digestive spices like cumin, caraway, ginger, mustard seed, cloves, basil, turmeric, fenugreek, cinnamon and garlic help reduction of fat. Avoid meat.
• Do not altogether give up ghee. Take a small amount, preferably melted ghee.
• Of course, exercises, yoga are must.
• Drink water sometime after meals. Best is to drink water when you are not eating.
Herbs that help mitigate obesity
1. Commiphora mukul (Guggul) A prominent herb, Guggul has now been found to be a hypolipidaemic drug. Its properties as a weight loss agent have been well researched. A formulation had been prepared with guggul by the central drug research institute, Lucknow in 1988. Controls obesity and cholesterol.
2. Cicer arietinum – Excretes the already deposited cholesterol from the arteries.
3. Sida cordifolia – Improves circulation and tones up muscles.
4. Curcuma domestica – Proved anti – inflammatory properties.
5. Curcuma amada – Tones up heart muscles and reduces blood pressure.
6. Boerharia diffusa (Mukkaratai – Punarva) Laxative, diuretic, used in odema
7. Aeglemarmelos. (Vilvam) Laxative, cooling
8. Terminalia Arjuna (Marudu)
9. Solanum nigrum (Manaththakkali) diuretic, Hydragogue
10. Piper longum
11. Elettarua cardamom
12. Myrstica fragrans
13. Caryophyllus aromatious
14. Plumbago Zeylonica (Venkodiveli, sittragam) Traditionally used for digestion and as a weight loss agent. Enhances the metabolism of fat.
15. Piper Nigrum (Milagu) Enhances digestion, flow of oxygen to brain and circulation.
16. Zingiber officinale (Inji) Recognised as a remedy for indigestion, motion sickness, appetite loss, ginger has a proven ability to control nausea and vomiting. It is essential for any diet plan to reduce weight as it aids metabolism.
17. Cinnamon Camphora (Karpuram) It reduces bad cholesterol levels. It keeps blood sugar level in control & hence helps metabolism and in controlling body weight.
18. Trigonella foenum (Vendayam) lowers serum triglycerides, total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol.
19. Gymnema Sylvestre (Sirukrunji) Aids production of Insulin and curbs the cravings for sweets
20. Triphala This formulation contains Emblica officinalis (Amla), Terminalia chebula (kadukkai) Terminalia bellerica. It eliminates fat from the body. It is more effective when combined with guggulu.
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