Obesity (severe overweight) is one of the most important risk factors for the health and mental well-being of people in the 21st century. Preventing obesity in children and adolescents is therefore extremely important.

If the body mass index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9 kg/m², it is considered overweight. Obesity begins at a BMI of 30.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (as of 2014), two thirds of men (67%) and half of women (53%) in Germany are overweight. A quarter of adults (23% of men and 24% of women) are even severely overweight (obese).

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Obesity also leads to a variety of secondary diseases:

• Metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes or gout
• diseases of the cardiovascular system
• diseases of the musculoskeletal system, e.g. osteoarthritis
• Diseases of organs, for example the kidney, liver, gallbladder
• male infertility
• Mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders or depression due to exclusion or stigmatization in everyday life due to obesity

causes

According to conventional medicine, obesity is an excess of body mass and fat. The most common cause is the intake of more calories through food than the body needs, combined with a lack of exercise. The following causes of overweight and obesity can be distinguished:

• Genetics: Every person has a so-called basal metabolic rate, which they burn when completely at rest, and which is probably genetically determined.
• Eating disorders: Some people do not feel full until later, even when they have consumed a lot of calories. This may be due to hormonal factors: hormones and nerve impulses report the fullness of the stomach to the brain, causing a feeling of fullness. If this transmission is disrupted, people eat more than necessary.
• Psychological causes: Unhappy people often eat more to feel better.
• Lack of exercise – leads to correspondingly lower energy consumption and digestive disorders.
• Medications: The pill, cortisone and some psychotropic drugs can stimulate the appetite and lead to water retention in the body.
• Other underlying diseases of hormone-producing organs (e.g. hypothyroidism) can also lead to obesity.

All cells in the human body contain fat. For example, the cell membrane of a typical blood cell consists of half saturated and half unsaturated fat. The right ratio of saturated and unsaturated fats is important to ensure that a cell functions correctly. In overweight people, however, the cell membrane contains a degenerate mixture of fat molecules. An excess of saturated fatty acids increases the risk of diabetes by exerting permanent stress on the cells. If the lipid imbalance lasts longer, it even leads to programmed cell death (source: https://www.muk.uni-frankfurt.de/75018797/Wie_Fette_die_Zellmembran_unter_Stress_setzen? ).

Obesity in Ayurveda

As with all health issues, Ayurveda always begins with determining the constitution of the individual. In the case of obesity, this initially provides information about the respective “ideal weight“:

Vata-dominant constitutions tend to be low in body weight. However, they like to deal with stress with sweets and therefore tend to put on belly fat, especially if they have a predominantly sedentary lifestyle.Kapha dominance basically means a high level of body mass and therefore a high body weight, which, unlike Vata dominance, is not just concentrated on the stomach but is distributed throughout the entire body. The body shape associated with the Pitta dosha is more athletic and powerful and in Ayurveda represents a medium body weight. Pitta constitutions have regular and strong digestion. It is only in combination with Vata or Kapha that weight problems arise - especially in the hip and thigh area.

It is important to understand that ALL basic constitutions can develop obesity over the course of life.

Obesity was named by the Indian physician and author of classical Ayurvedic texts, Charaka, as one of the eight intractable diseases. When a person has an excessive accumulation of “Meda“ (fat tissue) and “Mamsa“ (meat), it is called obesity.

According to Ayurvedic understanding, fatty tissue is made up of the elements earth and water, just like Kapha. If we eat food that is difficult to digest, cold, fatty and sweet and do little exercise, Meda becomes overfed.

Obesity is therefore also referred to in Ayurveda as “Medoroga” and is considered a Kapha disorder caused by a disturbed digestive fire (Agni) and as a result the formation of Ama (incompletely metabolized food) in the body. The Ama blocks microchannels in the body and thus increases Medhas (adipose tissue).

Since the digestive fire Agni and therefore the metabolism weakens with age, a lot of exercise and a dosha-appropriate diet are particularly important in the second half of life. But an excess of Vata, for example due to too much stress, also has a negative effect on the strength of Agni.

Ayurveda provides a range of measures to reduce obesity:
Nutrition, lifestyle changes, medicinal plants, massages, yoga and a Panchakarma treatment.

According to Ayurvedic understanding, the diet should primarily reduce Kapha. The preferred foods therefore have the properties of light, bitter, tart, spicy, clear and are mostly heating. For example, spicy spices, hot water, barley grain or mustard oil. Foods containing yeast, white flour, frozen foods and red meat should be avoided.

Decisive for the food intake In Ayurveda, however, it is not only the “what”, but also the “How”:

• The food should be freshly prepared and eaten calmly and well chewed.
• Regular meal times with lunch as the main meal are important.
• You should not eat anything three hours before going to sleep.
• No cold drinks, but hot water or teas with meals (ideal: boiled drinking water with a little cumin and coriander seeds).
• Only eat when you are really hungry. And then two handfuls per meal are enough.

Join in methods for stress reduction such as yoga and meditation, because no one can lose weight with increased Vata. Any physical and mental activity also helps to stimulate the metabolism. Cleansing enemas with Kapha-reducing herbs are also often part of Panchakarma treatments.

Furthermore, Ayurveda sees special medicinal plants for fat and ama breakdown. These must be spicy and bitter; therefore Trikatu is the first choice when it comes to stimulating Agni and activating tissue metabolism.

Obesity in TCM

From the perspective of TCM, obesity is often caused by a weakness in the functional circle “spleen” or in the functional group “stomach“ (a so-called “heat” process). Both cases have in common the disruption of the inflow and outflow in the body’s metabolism, so that there is an accumulation of “toxins" comes.

Analogous to the Agni formation in Ayurveda, TCM speaks here of “Tan" educationThe tan hinders the supply of nutrients to the cells and their disposal, resulting in cell starvation and overfilled food stores. TCM therapy for obesity therefore always aims to eliminate tan.

As with any therapy In TCM, the first step is an anamnesis with pulse and tongue diagnosis, on the basis of which individual recipes are prescribed that help the body to eliminate the tan. This is not a long-term solution to the problem, but it provides short-term relief for changes in food intake and for the body's own perception of the individual feeling of satiety.

In the long term, according to TCM, obesity can only be countered with the right diet. Too much meat and dairy products, for example, promote tan accumulation. If the cause of obesity is a weakness in the spleen functional area, its Qi can be strengthened, for example, by energetically warm foods with a neutral to sweet taste, such as grain, beef, lamb and chicken.

In addition, the metabolism can be specifically stimulated through acupuncture, massages (Tuina) and meditative movement techniques such as Tai Chi or Qi Gong.

Important nutrients for fat metabolism

The Maitake According to studies, it could reduce the storage of fat and glucose in the liver and thus prevent weight gain.

A very recent study from 2020 was the first to examine the effect of a daily dose of 9.2 g of maitake extract over 4 weeks on type 2 diabetes and obesity in humans - with the result that there were significantly positive effects on health through a reduction in triglyceride levels. In addition, an animal study on mice showed that maitake helps to lower blood sugar and triglyceride levels and breaks down fatty tissue. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32464000/

choline contributes to normal lipid metabolism.

At Trikatu It is a mix of ginger, long pepper and black pepper that stimulates the metabolism. In Ayurveda, the digestive fire Agni is central to fat loss, so food should be as spicy and bitter as possible; both of these apply perfectly to Trikatu.

A 2004 animal study on rats postulates that Trikatu may reduce the risk of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis due to its ability to lower triglycerides and LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol. Therefore, Trikatu may be used as a potent hypolipidemic agent and reduce atherosclerosis associated with a high-fat diet. Human studies are pending. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15742354/

L-carnitine is essential for the energy metabolism of human cells. It plays an important role in fat metabolism and acts as a so-called acceptor molecule (allows fatty acids to pass through the cell membrane of the mitochondria) to ensure that fatty acids are absorbed into the mitochondria, the so-called "power plants" of the cells, where they are converted into energy. L-carnitine accumulates mainly in heart tissue and skeletal muscles, as it is needed primarily where there is an increased need for energy.The heart muscle, for example, covers up to 80% of its energy needs from the breakdown of fatty acids.

A study conducted as part of a dissertation at the University of Rostock in 2007 found a significant influence of L-carnitine on the orocecal transit time; further studies are required. Patients requiring dialysis often have to take L-carnitine, as large amounts of L-carnitine are flushed out during dialysis. http://rosdok.uni-rostock.de/file/rosdok_disshab_0000000031/rosdok_derivate_0000003432/Dissertation-Duerr-2008.pdf

The active ingredient in Garcinia Cambogia is the calcium salt of hydroxycitric acid (HCA), which is found in such high concentrations in hardly any other fruit. Scientific research is focusing on the potential inhibition of fat synthesis from proteins and carbohydrates, as well as the possible inhibition of a key enzyme in fat metabolism, which converts excess carbohydrates into glycogen and thus no longer stores them as fat. However, meaningful clinical studies on this are still pending.

A 2003 study examined the effects of short-term HCA supplementation on endurance exercise performance and fat metabolism in untrained women. In two double-blind crossover tests, 6 subjects took 250 mg of HCA or a placebo for 5 days and then participated in a cycle ergometer workout. HCA tended to decrease respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and carbohydrate oxidation during 1 hour of exercise. In addition, exercise time to exhaustion was significantly increased. These results suggest that HCA increases fat metabolism, which may be associated with a decrease in glycogen utilization during exercise of the same intensity and improved exercise performance. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12953793/

The active ingredient in bitter orange extract is synephrine, which is found mainly in their peel and pulp. Synephrine is a phenylethylamine that activates mainly β3-adrenoreceptors in the body.

A double-blind study from 2016 supports the hypothesis that synephrine contributes to fat burning if the user moves after taking it. The study involved 18 young, healthy adults who took 3 mg/kg of body weight synephrine or a placebo one hour before working out on a stationary bike. As long as the subjects did not move, synephrine did not change their fat and carbohydrate burning. However, with light to medium exercise intensity, synephrine significantly increased fat burning. The maximum fat oxidation rate increased by ~38% with synephrine - translated into weight, this means that 7g more fat was burned per hour of workout without additional physical exertion. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27038225/

The coenzyme Q10 supports the mitochondria in burning fat. The body produces most of our Q10 requirements itself; however, this decreases with increasing age.

A 2016 randomized, double-blind study was conducted among 60 overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26385228/
Compared to the placebo group, Q10 supplementation of 100 mg daily for 8 weeks resulted in a significant reduction in insulin levels as well as a significant increase in plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) concentrations.

2017 Study Background: The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of Q10 supplementation on adiponectin concentration (a peptide hormone produced in fat cells that regulates hunger and food intake) and glucose metabolism in overweight and obese diabetics.Coenzyme Q10 significantly reduced HbA1c in overweight and obese patients with diabetes. In addition, the possible anti-adipogenic effect of Q10 could explain the significant reduction in weight and waist circumference and thus the decrease in adipoline. Further studies are needed to evaluate the exact role of coenzyme Q10 on adipose tissue and adiponectins. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27657997/

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German and European law aims to protect consumers from allegedly misleading claims about effectiveness. The statements made here refer to the original Ayurvedic and TCM texts. This knowledge, which has been passed down for thousands of years, is based on experience passed down from generation to generation. It is not intended to claim that the products described here have an effect in the sense of Western medicine. All products are food supplements; they are not medications and have no medical effect. If you are ill and need medical care, please contact your doctor or pharmacist."