Obesity - from a Risk Factor to Becoming an Independent Disease

Introduction:

Here is the general epidemiological data from WHO (World Health Organization).

• Around the world, obesity has almost tripled since 1975.

• In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, eight years and older, were overweight. Of these, over 650 million were obese.

• Most of the world's population lives in countries where overweight and obesity kill more people than underweight.

• Around almost 41 million children under the age of 5 were overweight and obese in 2016.

Most obese or overweight patients are at risk of developing heart, liver, or kidney diseases shortly. And not just that, it also causes considerable effects on the person's self-esteem and confidence levels.

In a study, it was stated that around 95 % of obese people do not consider this illness, and healthcare providers also fail to guide them on the right path. And ultimately, most people move under the category of poor compliance, as a result of which they resort to risky and harmful procedures like liposuction and bariatric surgery.

What Are the Factors Associated With Obesity?

What most overweight or obese persons miss is that obesity is a multifactorial issue. Trying to treat it by a single modality like diet or exercise is never going to give lasting and potential results. In most cases, the initial improvement with modern diets is very encouraging, but it is challenging and nearly impossible to follow them throughout life. Ultimately, they go off-track and start gaining weight twice as fast as they lost it.

The major role played by metabolism and hormones is mostly overlooked. In the absence of corrective treatment, it becomes tough to gain lasting results. To lose weight, you should follow a well-balanced diet, exercise, and take medicines. The critical thing in losing weight is to maintain the calories intake and loss ratio. The latter should always be higher than the former. Let us go through them one by one.

1) Diet:

Diet plays almost 70 % of the role in losing weight. So, we should be very meticulous while designing the diet chart. Those who cannot lose calories through physical exercise may need to keep their diet very low in calories. Now there are three types of macronutrients, namely carbohydrates, fat, and protein.

• When the carbohydrates content is more, the calories are more. Shortly after a meal, the patient is hungry again. So, the food intake also increases with such a diet.

• With fat on the higher side, the calories are high but less than carbohydrates, and the time between two meals can be longer. So food intake is less than carbohydrates.

• But the most helpful and best food content is protein. It is with fewer calories, gives early satiety, so intake is far less than carbohydrates and fatty food. Also, it takes longer to digest and avoid early hunger.

Some of the latest diets are designed in such a manner that they remove the carbohydrates from the food, which gives faster results. But it is not weight loss, but it is next to wasting. It is very harmful and should never be followed.

Best Ways to Lose Weight Through Diet:

• Better prepare a balanced diet having 60 % of protein, 25 % of fats, and 15 % of carbohydrates for instant energy.

• Also, taking liquids like protein shakes and semisolid food like juices and soups reduces food intake.

• The third thing is to chew your food excessively. Proper chewing helps reduce food intake, and the food is properly digested.

2) Exercise:

The amount of exercise is directly proportional to the present weight, the amount of weight loss needed, and the pace of the weight loss. Ultimately, the calories lost should be greater than the intake.

Those who are obese have difficulty exercising, as they are most likely to end up with weight-bearing joints pain. In such conditions, walking or jogging is contraindicated. Rather, they should opt for exercises like cycling and swimming. These exercises can be protective of the joints and are very effective. The more exercises you do, the better results you get.

3) Medicines:

Most people skip the part where medicines come into play. The majority of obese patients have predisposing factors like family history or some hormonal disorders such as thyroid problems or PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).

While there are some effective medicines in homeopathy that can help increase the metabolism and lose weight faster, they are again a temporary solution, and once we stop taking them, soon we tend to relapse back to the original situation.

Here we should not miss the chance to get the constitutional homeopathic treatment, which can completely eradicate diseases that are mentioned above and gives complete health.

What Are the Common Homeopathic Medicines Used for Weight Loss?

The most effective formula for homeopathic medicines for weight loss are:

1. Calotropis.

2. Fucus vesiculosus.

3. Phytolacca berry:

All three mother tinctures in equal proportions (10 to 20 drops each) taken with half a cup of water twice or thrice a day helps a lot.

Calotropis Gigantea:

This is one of the effective medicines which reduces body fat without any substantial weight loss. Using the medicine, the flesh is reduced, making the muscles firmer and harder.

Fucus Vesiculosus:

Along with weight loss, Fucus vesiculosus also helps in regulating the digestive processes by improving the conditions of constipation and flatulence. Fucus vesiculosus helps with weight loss by increasing thermogenesis and basal metabolic rate of the body.

Phytolacca Berry:

Phytolacca berry contains caryophyllene, isobetanine, pre betaine, and salts of phytolacca acids. The contents have therapeutic properties which aid in digestion and absorption of food, helping in lowering the intake of food. It is also known to regulate fat metabolism. Overall it helps in weight loss by controlling appetite.

Conclusion:

Obesity is one of the most potent risk factors for many dangerous diseases. It also reduces the quality of life of the person. However, homeopathy is a drastic measure to reduce weight by suppressing appetite and diet restrictions using drugs. It has its own limitations and is effective only until it lasts. So the best and most effective way to lose weight is through a combination of a healthy diet and exercise.