Obesity - Symptom, Treatment And Causes

The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased dramatically over the past few decades, and obesity during adolescence is associated with significant medical morbidity during adulthood. Eating disorders and obesity are usually seen as very different problems but actually share many similarities. Eating disorders (EDs) are the third most common chronic condition in adolescents, after obesity and asthma.

In fact, eating disorders, obesity, and other weight-related disorders may overlap as girls move from one problem, such as unhealthy dieting, to another, such as obesity. Understand the links between eating disorders and obesity and promote healthy attitudes and behaviors related to weight and eating.

What is an Eating Disorder?

Eating Disorders describe illnesses that are characterized by irregular eating habits and severe distress or concern about body weight or shape. Eating disturbances may include inadequate or excessive food intake which can ultimately damage an individual’s well-being. The most common forms of eating disorders include Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder and affect both females and males.

Signs & Symptoms of an Eating Disorder:

A man or woman suffering from an eating disorder may reveal several signs and symptoms, some which are:

1. Chronic dieting despite being hazardously underweight
2. Constant weight fluctuations
3. Obsession with calories and fat contents of food
4. Engaging in ritualistic eating patterns, such as cutting food into tiny pieces, eating alone, and/or hiding food
5. Continued fixation with food, recipes, or cooking; the individual may cook intricate meals for others but refrain from partaking
6. Depression or lethargic stage
7. Avoidance of social functions, family and friends. May become isolated and withdrawn
8. Switching between periods of overeating and fasting

What are the health risks associated with these disorders?

1. Stunted growth.
2. Delayed menstruation.
3. Damage to vital organs such as the heart and brain.
4. Nutritional deficiencies, including starvation.
5. Cardiac arrest.
6. Emotional problems such as depression and anxiety.

What is Obesity?

Obesity means being overweight by the accumulation of excess fat within the body. Obesity is defined to some extent by measuring Body Mass Index (BMI). People become obese by consumption of excess calories, imbalance between calories intake and calories outgoing, leading a sedentary life, lack of sleep , disturbances in lipid metabolism and intake of medications that put on obese.

What are the risks associated with obesity?

Obesity increases the risk for:

1. High blood pressure.
2. Stroke.
3. Cardiovascular disease.
4. Gallbladder disease.
5. Diabetes.
6. Respiratory problems.
7. Arthritis.
8. Cancer.
9. Emotional problems such as depression and anxiety.

How eating disorder and obesity are related?

Eating disorders and obesity are part of a range of weight-related problems.

1. Body dissatisfaction and unhealthy dieting practices are linked to the development of eating disorders, obesity, and other problems.
2. Binge eating is common among people with eating disorders and people who are obese.
3. Depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders are associated with both eating disorders and obesity.
4. The environment may contribute to both eating disorders and obesity.

Healp Adolescents Develop Healthy Eating Habits:

• Healp children learn to control their own eating.
• Offer children a variety of healthy foods at meal and snack times.
• Eat dinner together as a family most days of the week.
• Be aware of your child's emotional health.
• Encourage children to participate in sports, dance, swimming and other physical activities.
• Counteract harmful media messages about body image. 

The Splendid Approach:

The approach should be quite simple. A proper diet plan, nutritious foods and fruits with proper exercise can do a world of good to you.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Are you gaining excessive amount of weight during your pregnancy, well you are not alone.  Most of the pregnant women tend to be overweight or obese. You are viewed as overweight, if your pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) is approximately between twenty-five and twenty-nine. Your BMI is the relationship between your height and weight. You are considered obese, if your BMI is thirty or more.

However, here are some ways with which you can control the weight gain during pregnancy:

1. Eat a solid, yet less-calorie diet: Utilize a convenient pregnancy food journal to ensure you are getting enough supplements and drinking a lot of water every day. The journal is additionally helpful for keeping track of your mood swings and appetite levels, so you can spot patterns you may need to change. Since you realize that you have to take after a particular eating regimen, the following are very solid for you:
   • Crisp leafy foods
   • Oats and bread made with whole grains
   • Low-fat milk and dairy items
   • Foods rich in folate such as strawberries, spinach and beans
   • Unsaturated "good" fats such as olive oil, canola oil, and shelled nut oil
2. Regular exercise: In case you are a relative newcomer to work out, you can start with pregnancy exercise for beginners. You can practice low-impact exercises; for example, walking, swimming and light heart stimulating exercises. Never begin an exercise without first talking with your medicinal services supplier or doctor. Furthermore, make sure to you adhere to the thirteen principles of safe pregnancy work out. A few women do get in shape during pregnancy in case that they roll out solid eating regimen and make way for life improvements, so make sure to check in with your specialist if this happens.
3. Comprehend your calorie needs: As specified before, not all pregnant women have to put on equivalent measures of weight. Thus, you have to know precisely what number of calories you require. Talk with your specialist to get the correct number.
4. Eat frequent, small meals: This is true when you need to deal with your weight, pregnant or not. Eating successive little dinners is particularly helpful when you are pregnant. Eating a full feast makes you wiped out.
5. Taking prenatal pre-natal vitamins: This is something your specialist will recommend in any case. Yet, in case that you require an extra motivation to take your pre-birth vitamins consistent, then this is it. As you most likely are aware, your body needs additional food and nutrients during pregnancy. In case that you need to deal with your weight and take in the supplements without stacking yourself with calories, take your vitamins.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

PCOD stands for polycystic ovarian disease and it is a disorder associated with women of middle age or younger. There is a sense that the condition is being reported increasingly in the past few years. The appearance of multiple cysts on ovaries which leads to the menstrual cycle being disturbed, more or less describes this gynaecological disorder. The immediate fallout of PCOD is that it can result in infertility and that causes more anxiety among married women. Unfortunately, such anxiety can worsen their chances of conceiving. They must subject themselves to proper diagnosis and treatment.

Symptoms and Diagnosis
A typical PCOD patient may suffer from an enlarged ovary and therefore it produces excess of androgen and estrogenic hormones. Experienced gynaecologists usually understand the condition through interaction with the patient and after listening to the medical history, particularly relating to their menstrual cycle. The incidence of the condition in obese women is more frequent and the excess levels of androgen etc. as described above will also leave a few symptoms. Blood tests or pelvic exam is conducted by the doctor to confirm the phrase of PCOD.

Treatment for PCOD
Under Ayurveda, the PCOD condition is seen as an imbalance in the rasa and rakta dhatus. The multiple layers of cysts are also explained as the accumulation of impurities and toxins in the system. The predominant underlying cause and therefore the treatment under Ayurveda relates to the food consumed and lifestyle adopted by the affected women.

From the food intake perspective, the advice is to switch to low-fat milk and drink only boiled milk.The PCOD affected women should consume fruits, preferably the lighter varieties which can be easily digested and have less sugar content, such as apples, oranges, etc. Besides these a kind of vegan diet with an abundance of green vegetables and whole grains is also recommended.

Advised Lifestyle Changes
Ayurveda also combines instructions on certain simple changes being brought about in the normal lifestyle of PCOD patients, which can be applicable to others also. One is to avoid stress and reduce the levels of anxiety. While remaining active, excessive physical strain must be completely avoided. Women diagnosed with PCOD must strictly refrain from consuming alcohol and smoking and drug intake should also be fully avoided. These can have a direct impact on the menstrual cycle.

Whenever a women diagnosed with PCOD has been found to have excess body weight, the doctor may put them through a simultaneous weight loss programme, without harming the physical condition of the woman in any manner. Once the PCOD condition is treated and the ovary is restored to its original form, the woman can pursue a separate line of treatment for ovulation and pregnancy where such intentions exist.

Ayurvedic Panchkarma therapy including Abhyangam, Shiridhara and Basti Chikitsa is very effective. Ayurvedic medicine to restore hormonal imbalances is better substitute. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Obesity is a common nutritional disorder that has resulted into stress among people of all age groups. The mushrooming of slimming centers, weight loss pills and diet plans in the recent past are all pointers of how people are disturbed by obesity. The condition results from excess accumulation of fats in the body as a result of excess intake of food. When you take an excess of 50 calories in a day, you are said to increase weight by 25 kgs within a ten-year period. While scientists largely attribute the cause for the condition to intake of excess food, studies also reveal that genes could play a significant role too. There is no cure for obesity but a method that is slowly gaining popularity for countering obesity successfully is homeopathy.

Homeopathic Medicines

For many years now, homeopathy has been used as a mode of treatment for obesity across many countries in the world. The mode of treatment usually is constitutional and needs a detailed case history of the patient and evaluation so that the best remedy can be selected...

1. Calcarea Carbonica is a homeopathic medicine that is administered when a patient has excess fat in their abdomen. The constitutional symptoms are profuse perspirations on the head, low tolerance for cold air and strange cravings like desire to eat chalk.
2. Natrum Mur is used for patients with excess of weight in their thighs and buttocks. Excessive heat and intolerance towards sun are the constitutional symptoms for this homeopathic medicine.
3. Lycopodium is used similar to the natrum Mur. However, here the constitutional symptoms vary in that they are used on patients suffering from gastric troubles. Patients have a liking for hot food and sweet stuff. These are just a few examples.

Other Methods for Weight Loss:

Homeopathic medicines work by stimulating the metabolic rate of the body to burn fat much faster and as such should be used with exercise and a controlled balanced diet comprising of proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates and minerals. When these three are combined, the results are much faster and the degree of weight loss will be much higher.

To win over obesity the key thing is to take adequate amounts of food as diet which is the greatest cause of obesity. Taking homeopathic medicines will help increase your body's metabolic rate and coupled with exercise and controlled diet, you will be on a recovery from obesity. 

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Obesity and wellness

How obesity could lead to increased risk of cancer?

Local inflammation or organ inflammation

People who are obese are more likely than normal weight individuals to develop chronic local inflammation affecting organs which over time can cause dna damage and lead to organ cancers.

Insulin and cancer

People who are obese over time are often found to have increased blood levels of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (igf-1). High levels of insulin and igf-1 may promote the development of colon, kidney, prostate, and other endometrial cancers. Insulin resistance due to obesity is a risk factor cancer.

Hormones play havoc

Fat cells produce what are called as adipokines, which are hormones that may stimulate or inhibit cell growth. An adipokine called leptin, which is responsible for promoting controlled cell proliferation in the blood increases with increasing body fat which could over time trigger uncontrolled cell proliferation. 
Higher amounts of estrogen produced by fat tissue, can drive the development of some cancers, such as breast and endometrial cancers

Here are the immediate steps to be taken by people who have been obese for over years now to reduce risk of cancer.

1. Immediately stop consumption of any processed food (processed dairy derivatives, processed cold storage food, canned food, sodas, ready to eat packs, instant noodles all fast food).

2. Your diet should consist of green leafy vegetables as they have anti-carcinogenic and blood purification properties, pules bell peppers, broccoli, sweet potato and peanuts for balanced intake of proteins, healthy fat which is essential for regulated cell functioning and complex carbohydrate rich in nutrients. Depending upon your metabolic type it is always better to develop a diet that best suites you in consultation with your nutritionist.

3. Add turmeric to your daily diet, (anti-inflammatory properties) refer to my postings on turmeric to have a complete understanding of how it helps and simple every day recipes to include turmeric into your diet.

4. Stop using processed oils for making your dishes and start using virgin coconut oil or virgin olive oil

5. Go for 21 days (minimum) detoxification program by carving out a diet (completely natural diet) that will flush out oxidants, toxins from the body.

6. Periodic fasting helps in reducing obesity as well as decreasing the risk of cancers.

This when followed consistently for at least 2 months, will reduce the risk of cancer in people who are obese for over years now. Consequently it is required to make certain lifestyle changes a must and a priority through out your life. You could refer to my previous postings on obesity for this.