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Obesity Is A Condition In Which Individual Is Significantly Overweight. Excessive Body Fat Is Accumulated On The Belly, Buttocks, Breasts And   Thighs. This May Lead To Diabetes, Hypertension And Arthritis.In Simple Terms, Obesity Is Being More Than One-Fifth Overweight As Compared To The Normal Weight Range. Obesity Can Be Defined As Excessive Enlargement Of Body’s Total Quantity Of Fat. There Is No Biologic Reason For Men And Women To Get Fatter As They Grow Older. Therefore The Standard For Over Fatness For Adult Men And Women Should Probably Be Established As Men Above 20% And Women Above 30% Body Fat.

In Ayurvedic Text, ‘Charakacharya’ Has Described Eight ‘Nindya Prakruties’ (Undesirable Constitution) According To The Body Constitution. Among Them He Has Also Mentioned Obesity. Obesity Is Described As ‘Medoroga’ In Ayurved. It Is Said That It Is Comparatively Easy To Help An Underweight Person, Rather Than An Overweight Person. The Overweight Problem Can Be Due To An Actual Increase In The Fat Component (Meda Dhatu) Or It Can Be Due To Malfunctioning.

Synonyms

Medoroga Sthulaya Corpulence Chubbiness Portliness Fatness Stout Flabby Plump Overweight:

Anatomy:

Body Is Made Of 7- Dhatus:

Rasa(Lymph), Rakta(Blood), Maans(Muscle), Meda(Fat), Asthi(Bones), Majja(Nervoussystem) Shukra(Reproductive System).

But In Obese Fellow Meda Is Excessively Nourished And Remaining Other Dhatus Gets Malnourished. When Kapha Increases In Abnormal Fashion, Fat Metabolism Gets Hampered And Person Becomes Obese.

In Ayurveda, This Condition Is Called Medoroga. Which Is Due To Excessive Fat Accumulation In The Body.  Over Weighted Persons Are At Increased Health Risk Than Normal Persons. It Leads To Serious Health Hazard Affecting The Functions Of The Vital Organs Like Heart, Liver And Kidneys. They Are More Prone To Chronic Diseases Like Heart Diseases, Type-2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Stroke, And Few Types Of Cancers.Medas Is A Yellowish, Greasy, Soft, Solid Material. Innumerable Globules Of Fat Form A Thick Spongy Layer Under The Skin (Subcutaneous Fat); It’s Thickness Varying From 1mm To 1 Or 2 Inches In Place Like The Buttocks, Abdomen, Back & Thigh. It Forms 10-23% Of The Total Body Weight In Healthy Adults, (Women Having More Than 15% More Than Men).

Physiology:

Food Is The Chief Source Of Body Fat. After Digestion Fine Droplets Of Fat In The Form Of Thin Emulsified Milky Liquid Are Absorbed In The First Part Of Small Intestine. Nearly 95% Of Dietary Fat Is Thus Absorbed, The Remaining 5% Passes Out Mixed With Feaces. The Absorbed Fluid Passes Through The Lymphatic Ducts & Thoracic Duct, One Portion Of Its Goes To The Yakrt (Liver) Another Portion Joins The Blood Stream, A Few Inches Above The Heart. The Circulating Blood Carries This Fatty Material All Over The Body, The Adipose Tissue Underneath The Skin And Other Places Take Up More Quantities Of This Material And Store It In Solid Form To Be Used As Emergency Food.The Adipose Tissue Is Not Inert As It Appears To Be But Constantly Undergoing Changes, Depletion And Replenishment Both Being Well Balanced.  Metabolic Changes Take Place During Which Nutrients Materials Like Glycogen, Glycerol And Fatty Acid And Waste Products Like Aceto-Acetic Acid Etc. Keton Bodies Are Produced Mainly In The Liver. These Activities Are Controlled And Regulated By Many Hormonal Glands. Disorder Of These Hormones Lead On Either To Excessive Accumulation Or Depletion Of Body Fat.

Keton Bodies Which Are The Waste Products Of Fat Metabolism Are Made Use Of By The Liver For Formation Of Bile Acids, Excessive Production Of These Waste Products Is Toxic To The Body And Can Be Seen In Certain Disease Like Diabetes Mellitus. Another Waxy Substance Usually Found Associated With Fat And Fatty Articles Of Diet Is Cholesterol. It Is Also Found In Varying Proportions In Various Tissue And Organs Of Animals Including Man. In Recent Years This Substance Has Assumed Importance In View Of Its Tendency To Adhere To The Walls Of The Arteries Inside , Narrowing Their Lumen Causing Hindrance To Blood Flow And Ultimately Producing High Blood Pressure And Disease Of Heart And Kidneys .

Medas In View Of Its Unctuous, Smooth, Jelly-Like Properties Is Considered A Combination Of Aap And Prthvi Bhutas. It Confers The Body With Lubrication, Greasyness, Softness, Elasticity And Resistance.

Its Other Two Functions Are:

1.Asthipusti (Nourishment Of Bones)
2.Swedakaraka – Producers Of Sweat.
In Addition To These, Medas Serves As,
A.Insulation Material Protecting The Body From Mechanical, Thermal And Electrical Pressure.
B.Energy Store, Fat Being Utilized To Release Heat And Energy During Starvation.
C.Solvent For Many Toxins Of The Body.
D.Helps Proper Conduct Of Electrical Impulses Inside The Nerve.
E.Helps In The Clotting Of Blood.
F.Maintain The Elasticity Of The Lungs And Such Other Function.

Causes:

A Person Of Normal Weight Takes A Diet Which Is Sufficient To Sustain Daily Activities Without Storing Energy In The Form Of Fat Tissue. Putting On Weight, However, Means There Has Been A Change In Our Lifestyle That Is Conducive To Storing Energy (Calories) In The Form Of Fat Tissue. These Changes Can Include Moving From An Active Lifestyle To A More Sedentary One, Changes In Diet, Increased Consumption Of Fats, Sugars And Other Foodstuffs That Contain ‘empty Calories’. Processed Foods Are Termed As Empty Calories Because They Are Without Other Nutrients Like Proteins, Vitamins And Minerals, Although They Contain Readily Available Energy That Can Be Digested, Absorbed And Assimilated With Less Effort. Other Changes May Be A Disease Or An Accident That Makes Us Reduces Our Activity, But We Continue Eating As If We Were As Healthy And Active As Before The Incident. This Will Result In Storage Of Extra Energy In The Form Of Fat Tissues In Our Bodies.

All These Changes Make Us Gain Weight, And We Remain With That Extra Weight, Creating A New Cycle In Life Where Inactivity, Which Was Probably The Cause, Turns Out To Be The Effect. Obesity Actually Leads To Further Inactivity, And This In Turn Leads To More Obesity. It Has Also Been Observed Through Research On Obese Patients That The Metabolism Becomes More Efficient At Using Fewer Calories (Energy) To Perform The Body’s Normal Functions. The Daily Energy Expenditure Depends On The Energy Needed For The Basic Activities That Take Place In The Body To Keep Us Alive And Balanced, Such As When We Are Completely Resting, When We Are Fully Active Like During Exercise,Digestion,Absorption,Metabolism And Storage Of Food Stuff.

This More Efficient Energy Pathway In The Obese Individual Seems To Be Related To The Metabolism Of Sugars (The Main Source Of Energy In The Body) Where The Sugar Needed As A Source Of Energy Is Not Easily Available Due To An Insulin Resistance In The Obese Tissues. (Insulin Is The Hormone Produced By The Pancreas Which Is In Charge Of Controlling The Blood-Sugar Level And The Assimilation Of Sugar By The Tissues Of The Body.) This Makes The Body Store More Energy And Use Less.

General Causes Of Obesity Are As Follows:

1. Genetic Factors – Obesity Tends To Run In Families. If Parents Are Fat Then The Offspring Also Show A Tendency To Accumulate Fat. Even The Diet And Lifestyle Habits Which Are Practiced In Family Also Contribute To Obesity.
2. Environment – A Person’s Eating Habits And The Level Of Physical Activities A Person Has Also Contribute For Excess Deposition Of Fat. When A Person Eats Food Containing More Calories And Has A Sedentary Work Then The Calories Consumed Are More Than Calories Burnt. The Excess Amount Calories Are Stored As Fat.
3. Psychological Disturbances – There Is A Tendency To Over Eat In Response To Negative Emotions Like Boredom, Sadness Or Anger. This Leads To Obesity.
4. Diseases And Conditions Like Hypothyroidism, Cushing’s Syndrome, Depression, And Certain Neurological Problems Lead To Overeating Which In Turn Leads To Accumulation Of Fat.
5. Medicines Such As Steroids And Some Antidepressants May Cause Weight Gain.

According To Ayurveda:

The Causes Of Obesity Are Very Clearly Explained In Ayurveda. The Following Reasons Which Are Mentioned In Ayurveda Increase The Deposition Of Fat.

“Avayamadivaaswapnashleshmalaaaharasevinaha Madhuroannarasaha Prayaha Snehamedhovivardhati”

This Could Be Defined As:

1. Avyayama: Not Exerting Physically
2. Divaswapna: Sleeping In Afternoon.
3. Shleshmala Ahara Vihara: The Diet And Life Styles Which Increase Kapha
4. Madhura Annaha: Consuming Sweetened Foods.

Also,
“Stholayam Pragudahritah Guruadivridhasan Leen Sleshma Mishro Annajo Rasah”. (Ashtang Sansrah Chaptor 224/22)

That Means Excessive Intake Of Heavy And Fatty Meals As Well As No Exercise Make A Person Obese.So, Sthulaya/ Obesity Are An Abnormal Increase In Weight And Girth Of The Body Due To Accumulation Of Excessive Fat. Slight Obesity Is Common In After The Age Of 40 In Women After Childbirth And During Menopause. Likewise Is The Tendency In Some Families, For Some Of Its Member Become Obese During Some Period Of Their Life. Accumulation Of Excess Fat Is Attributed To Disturbance Of Appetite Control Mechanism Of The Body Which Makes For Over Eating.

Some Other Causes

1. Over Eating
2. Alcohol
3. Smoking
4. No Exercise
5. Fried Foods
6. Fat-Rich Or Junk Foods And Cola Drinks
7. No Vegetarian Diet
8. Luxurious Life Style And Excessive Sleeping
9. Anxiety And Depression
10. Drugs Such As Steroids, Oral Contraceptives And Insulin
11. Endocrinological -Induced Obesity May Be Seen In Hypothalamic Lesions, Hypothyroidism, Cushing Syndrome Etc.

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