Obesity can be defined as an excessive fat accumulation that increases the risk of health problems and presents a risk to health. A body mass index (BMI) over 25 is considered as overweight, and over 30 is obese. The issue has grown to epidemic proportions, with over 4 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese in 2017 according to the global burden of disease. Rates of overweight and obesity continue to grow in adults and children. From 1975 to 2016, the prevalence of overweight or obese children and adolescents aged 5–19 years increased more than four-fold from 4% to 18% globally.
In Ayurveda obesity is described under the heading of Sthoulya which means a person having heaviness and bulkiness of the body due to excessive collection of fat is called obese (sthula) and the condition is called Obesity (sthoulya)
Integrative medicine primarily focuses on prevention to support better health before disease occurrence, as well as strengthening the body’s inborn ability to heal itself, promoting lifestyle changes, mind-body medication, and in-depth patient education.
We had a male patient aged 47 years with obesity associated with B/L knee pain for 5 years. Putting on body weight was high every 6 months due to irregular food habits and craving for junk. He also had disturbed sleep and work stress.
Treatment at VHG:
The patient underwent prescribed internal and external treatment, such as vire chana (which includes 5 days of snehapana, Carvana abhyanga, and virechana) and 7 days of Carvana podikizhi. For 5 days, he was taught yoga to increase his metabolic rate and reduce his body weight. Now, he is following yoga regularly with the advised diet and some ayurvedic medicines.
Pre and post changes:
| Pre | Post | |
| Weight | 113 KG | 104 KG |
| Fat | 45.4% | 38.6% |
| Visceral Fat | 27 | 23 |
| BMI | 39.9 | 36.4 |
| RM | 1945 | 1734 |
| Fat | 78 Years | 73 Years |
Conclusion:
The combination of Ayurveda, yoga, and diet helped a patient reduce his body weight to some extent. He reduced his 9 kgs in 45 days in a healthy way, and he is still motivated to follow a decent diet and engage in good physical activity for the rest of his life.
