Ayurvedic Treatments for Obesity
About 60% of population in Kerala is obese. Obesity is a condition in which excess body fat accumulated in the body which can affect health of an individual. Obesity is calculated on the basis of Body Mass Index (BMI) – a measure obtained by dividing a person’s weight to square of person’s height. BMI at a range 25-30 kg per m2 is considered overweight. Obesity in turn increases the likelihood of various diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases, certain types of cancer, depression, and osteoarthritis ec.
Obesity happens overtime when people eat more calories than you use. Factors that might affect weight include genetic factors, over eating, eating high fat food and not being physically active.
According to Ayurveda, obesity can be correlated to sthoulyam and it happens by the habit of excessive eating, intake of heavy sweet, cold, fatty food substances. Lack of exercise, sleeping day time, intake of sweet dishes, women during their pregnancy, genetic factors etc. contribute to obesity. These factors increase kapha dosha of body which in turn affects digestion. The food is not properly digested which again aids to the deposition of adipose tissues in the body. This is known as Sthoulya.
Sthoulya person suffers from severe hunger and thirst, perspiration, body odor, snoring etc. Due to softness of meda (fat) person become incapable of all activities due to abstracted sthrothas in body.
Diagnosis
A person is diagnosed as sthouly when his/her buttocks, abdomen, breasts show excess accumulation of meda, improper growth of body parts, lack of enthusiasm etc.
Chikitsa or treatment To completely recover from obesity a person must avoid bathing in cold water, eating rice, wheat, sitting idle for longtime, sleeping in daytime, consuming milk products, sugar and sugarcane products, taking huge amounts of non-vegetarian foods, sweet food items, drinking a lot of water after food etc.
In Ayurveda obesity is managed by some diet restrictions, increased mental and physical activities and medications.
Diet prescribed includes those that takes more time to digest but doesn’t increase body weight.
- Barley soaked in Triphala Kashaya
- Kashaya made of Cedar wood and Indian barley with honey.
- Water boiled with black catechu wood
- Preparations with bitter vegetables
- Preparations of njavara rice with green gram
- Preparation by grains produced by grass like plants
