Obesity an Evil:-
A beautiful body is always admired by everyone but Obesity can be like an ugly cloud which surrounds the beauty of every obese person. It is a major health hazard and more like a social evil. It seems more fatal than drinking or gambling.
There is no clear definition of obesity. In general a fat person is said to obese. However one is considered obese ONLY if he weighs at least 20 per cent more than his ideal body weight because of excessive accumulation of fat. Even ideal weight is difficult to define.
Currently, Body Mass Index (BMI) scale is the most common measurement of obesity. The BMI is based on the ratio of weight over height squared (kg/MxM). The BMI gives a broader range of weight that may be appropriate for a specific height. Now what should be the value of BMI for an ideal body?
A BMI of around 18.5 to 24.9 is considered to be within ideal body weight range. A BMI between 25 to 29.9 is somewhat at a health risk and a BMI above 30 is considered at significant health risk due to obesity. BMI is the most convenient and presently most widely understood measure of obesity risk.
Causes of obesity are: -
When a person consumes more calories than he burns then the excess calories get stored in the form of fat causing obesity.
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. Eating disorder.
5. Diseases and conditions like Hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome, Depression, and certain neurological problems lead to overeating which in turn leads to accumulation of fat.
6. Medicines such as steroids and some antidepressants may cause weight gain. .
Health risks due to Obesity
Obesity leads to the following problems.
1. Type-2 diabetes
2. Heart disease.
3. High Blood pressure.
4. Stroke
5. Few types of Cancers
6. Gall stones
7. Liver diseases, hepatitis, kidney related problems.
8. Osteo arthritis.
9. Gout
10. Infertility, low libido.
11. Irregular menstruation in women, skin problems, piles, filariasis,fistula, etc.
Tips to reduce Obesity
1. Determine with the help of your physician how much weight has to be reduced.
2. Set several short term realistic goals.
3. Reward yourself each time you make progress (Not food items).
4. Even small weight losses have shown to be beneficial.
5. Make gradual changes in eating habits.
6. You will lose weight when you burn more calories than you consume. Hence eating less and being more active help in losing weight.
7. Sound eating habits keep you out of putting on weight.
8. Stay motivated to lose weight.
9. Slow weight loss is the safest and most effective. (One to one and half pound per week).
10. Gradual weight loss, promote long term loss of body fat.
11. A person who is moderately active needs daily, 33 calories per kg of body weight to maintain his weight.
12. Reducing calories intake by 300 per day and increasing the physical activity to burn 200 calories per day results in weight loss of 400 Gms per week.
13. To satisfy basic nutritional needs eat a variety of foods every day. Choose from each of the five food group’s milk, meat, fruit, vegetable and cereals. Balanced food plans encourage making wise choices about everyday food choices. This type of diet helps to stay at your proper weight for life.
14. Allow for an occasional treat.
15. Evaluate your eating pattern.
16. Try to cut down on foods high in fats and sugar.
17. Most successful weight – loss plans stress on reduction in both calories and the amount of fat eaten.
Physical activity:
1. Determine the type of physical activity that suits your life style.
2. Regular aerobic exercise like brisk walking, jogging or swimming, is a key factor in achieving permanent weight loss and improving health
3. Health experts recommend exercising 30 minutes or more on all, days of the week for maximum benefits. The exercises should be moderately vigorous to be most effective but not exhausting.
4. Incorporate few simple measures to burn calories effectively. Like- taking an after dinner walks, using stairs instead of escalators or elevators, parking the car farther away to have a longer walk etc.
5. Exercises also improve sense of well being, decreases stress and decreases appetite in some.
Ayurveda tips to reduce Obesity:-
In the Ayurvedic perspective, there should be a major shift in awareness. Ayurveda does not treat obesity; it treats a person who is obese or over weight. Like everything else in nature, there is so much diversity and variation in each person and “one size does not fit all”. Maria, a computer programmer in her 30s, was complaining, “It is not fair. Susan and I are on the same diet plan since last month and she’s already lost 10 pounds, I haven’t even lost two pounds yet”. She couldn’t understand why it was so hard for her to lose weight. According to Ayurveda Linda and Susan have different Mind-Body Make up – called Body Constitution and that is why they were responding differently. We all are very different, so obviously one diet program does not work for everybody. Ayurveda respects that uniqueness in each person and helps create custom tailored plans to maintain the unique balance for each individual.
Other Home Remedies
1). Consumption of honey. This is advisable for non diabetic patients. Consuming 2 tea spoon of honey with a glass of herbal tea which includes weight reducing herbs help a lot in weight reduction. Honey along with these herbs scrapes and dissolves the Kapha and medha (body fat).
2). Sleeping for less hours. Avoiding sleeping in afternoons help to increase the burning of calories. This avoids slowing of basal metabolic rate.
3). Avoiding the food and beverages which increase kapha and medha. The foods which increase kapha and medha are sweets, sweetened drinks, large quantities of carbohydrates and oily food.
4). Consuming wheat products than rice products help to reduce obesity.
5). Using Green gram and horse gram help in reduction of kapha and medha.
6) Boiled water:-Drink a glass of boiled water every day after meal.
7) Ginger tea: - 2 to 3 time a day.
8) Black Pepper: Seasoning foods with black pepper will decrease the need for salts and fats, and will still add flavor to foods. This will also help reduce weight.
9) Cinnamon: This spice can act as a low calorie sweetener to help reduce the amount of sugar needed in a recipe. It also adds a unique flavor to most cookie recipes.
10) Raw or Cooked Cabbage: The intake of cabbage reduces the conversion of sugars to fat. Therefore, eating plenty of this well help increase the body's ability to metabolize fatty foods.
