Introduction
The person is called obese when due to excessive increase of fat and
muscles and has pendulous buttocks and abdomen. He also suffers from
deficient metabolism and energy. Charakha included obese persons among the
eight persons who are despicable. This medoroga comes under diseases caused
by over saturation i.e. under santarpanaja vikar.
Hetu (etiological factors)
- Absence of physical activity (avyayamad).
- Day sleep (divaswapna).
- Over consumption of foods that increase kapha viz sweet, heavy, slimy
substances (pichchhil), new cereals, fresh wine, meat of marshy and
aquatic animals, milk and its derivatives, jaggery and flour
preparations.
- Lack of mental work.
- Genetic defects.
Roopa (the signs and symptoms)
- Fat accumulation in large quantity in the body makes the person
incapable of all physical activities.
- Makes breathing difficult even on slight exertion.
- Excess thirst.
- Excess sleep.
- Sudden catching of breathe, exhaustion even after doing lighter work.
- Excessive hunger.
- Bad smell of the body.
- Poor physical and sexual capacity gradually develops.
Treatment
Charaka mentioned following treatment for obesity:
- Emesis
- Purgation
- Bloodletting
- Physical exercise
- Fasting
- Smoking
- Sweating
- Use of abhayaprasha with honey
- Rough food grains
- Use of guduchi, devdaru, musta, triphala, takrarishta and honey, are
recommended for reducing the over obesity.
- Vidanga, shunthi, yavakshara, and ash-powder of black iron mixed with
honey, is used for obesity.
- Barley and amalaki powder, in combination, is an excellent
formulation for the same.
Commonly used drugs
- Choorna
- Chavyadi choorna
- Phalatrikadi choorna
- Vidangadya choorna
- Kashay (decoction)
- Trifala kashay
- Bilvadi kashay
- Madhujala sidhapeya
- Shilajatu
- Vati (pills)
- Navak guggulu.
- Amrutadya guggulu.
- Rasaushadhi
- Trimurti rasa.
- Rasabhasma yoga.
- Wadavagni rasa.
- Loha rasayana.
- Lepa (local applications)
- Mocharasadi lepa
- Shirishadi ubatan
- Priyangvadi lepa
- Jambudaladi ubatan
- Babbuladi ubatan
Shodhana chikitsa (evacuative therapy)
Lekhan basti with ushakadi gana is advised for treating this.
Pathya-apathya (dos and don'ts)
- Pathya
- Worries, excessive physical exercise, sexual- intercourse,
sprinkling and rubbing of various medicinal powders over body,
fasting, sunbath, brisk walking. Taking panchakarma treatment like
vamana (emesis) and virechana (laxatives and purgatives), old rice,
yava (barley), kulattha, masoor, mudga, chana, honey, pungent and
bitter edible things, trifala, trikatu, leafy vegetables, hot water
or taking excessive water before meals.
- Apathya
- Avoid rasayana aushadhi, rejuvenating therapies etc. Avoid
shashtishali (rice), wheat, urad, all milk products, sugarcane
products, sweets, oily food, fat (specially hydrogenated fat like
vanaspati ghee) etc.
