Being Overweight : A Concern For Many
Has your bulk ever been responsible for your feeling of dissatisfaction and uneasiness in your own skin? Do you ever find it damaging to your self- esteem when you look at yourself in the mirror?
The sight of a weighing scale instils fear upon you? Do you find yourself in situations where you can’t relish your favourite food or take pleasure in a piece of cake or pass on that treasured pair of clothes so you let it rot in the cupboard?
Well, we are all bearing victims to the narrow set of beauty standards that the world is set upon. Of course, certain parameters such as age and gender come into play, but what we deem fit in this world as normal, healthy and beautiful are very comparable.
Other Factors That Disregard Fat As Merely A Cosmetic Concern
Have you ever felt it tiresome to even get yourself a glass of water?
To engage yourself in games which you had once played with ease?
Being overweight puts oneself on the pedestal for a plethora of high risk disorders such as type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, high blood pressure, liver disease, gall bladders or could even lead to certain cancers!
What Exactly Is Fat?
Lipids, fondly called fatty acids are 3 molecules joined together as a structure known as triglycerides which is a major source of energy. Fats are categorised into essential and non-essential fats. As a majority amount of fat we require are synthesised by our body itself, they are labelled non-essential fats and the rest of it accounts for non-essential fats which should be achieved from our diet such as omega 3 fatty acid found in flaxseed and fish and omega 6 fatty acids obtained from nuts,seeds and corn oil.
Why A Minimal Amount of Fat is Significant?
- Fats satiate you for a prolonged time after a meal.
- They prove crucial in keeping the skin hydrated by constructing skin’s natural oil barrier.
- Healthy fats keep a check on the LDL Cholesterol of our body.
- They help absorb essential vitamins such as vitamin A,D,E and K.
How Does Fat Turn Itself Into Obesity?
Obesity is defined as the excess accumulation of fat in the body or a complex disorder which an excessive amount of fat in our body puts at risk. Being obese poses a potential threat factor to upcoming disorders that a body might fall prey to, examples are heart disease, high blood pressure etc.
Obesity stands tall as the most commonly occurring disorder tormenting the world. Hence obesity finds itself in the category of a hot button issue that can’t be swayed matching our requirements and demands a huge concern.
How Obesity is Diagnosed?
Obesity can result from a permutation and combination of our diet, inherited genes, our external environment and our personal lifestyle choices which includes exercise. It also stems from an underlying disease such as PCOS, Cushing syndrome etc and also some medications also prove to be hazardous.
In calorie terms, obesity occurs when you exceed the intake of calories rather than burnt calories. In order to diagnose obesity, we borrow help from one of the most acquainted index regarding our health, the BMI (Body Mass Index), if it shoots upto 30 or higher, you are marked as Obese.
In order to determine, the weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. However, it is to be kept that this scale is not a direct measure of body fat, so athletes might find themselves in the obese category of BMI.
Let’s Take A Look At The Most Coveted Mode of Treatment : The Liposuction
Liposuction also identified as lipoplasty, liposculpture suction, lipectomy or simply as lipo is a mode of cosmetic surgery, that involves elimination of fat ordinarily from certain parts such as abdomen, thighs, buttocks, calves, back, neck, upper and back of the arm where fat is easily accumulated. It is the customary cosmetic operation in the united States with numbers as high as 3 lakh annually.
This is achieved by a cannula as a medium which is subcutaneously inserted which is then aided by a strong and a powerful vacuum to the cannula administered under general anaesthesia. It finds its use in ushering confidence rapidly by removing excess fat and thereby giving a perfectly contoured body that takes much less of a time ! This esthetic procedure permanently removes fat cells that manage to pull off the desired body structure and appearance.
Liposuction : is it Useful From A Healthy Prospective?
Gaining weight is complemented by the fat cells in our body bloating up in size and volume, liposuction aims to lessen the number of fat cells in certain isolated sections. A fine appearance of the body is a merit of this simple procedure, And fails to render any physical benefits, in other words, liposuction is a procedure widely accepted just to fit in the pre-constructed beauty standards that seem to govern the world, completely disregarding the grave health concerns that come along. Liposuction also poses a risk of infections, and also may work best for people blessed with a good skin tone and elasticity.
Obesity And Ayurveda
You must be wary of switching between diets and still not being able to achieve the ideal results,Ayurveda prescribes a perceptive, simple and a discerning approach for successfully managing body weight and a refreshing improved overall health.
According to Ayurveda, obesity (athi sthoulya) is the accumulation of excess medas (fat/adipose tissue)and mamsa (flesh) in the body which results in shortened longevity and a retrograde health.
All disorders in Ayurveda find its root in a faulty lifestyle and diet or practices such as engaging in sleep during daytime, uncontrolled intake of food and not paying any attention to physical activities as such.
An improper diet practice may ignite digestive issues that stem from an impaired agni (digestive fire) which in turn disrupts the metabolic process halting the formation of further dhatu which is initiated with medo dhatu (fatty tissue).
Ama also tends to block the channels that upsets the vata dosha which stimulates the production of digestive fire leading to an uncontrollable appetite.
Generalised Methods For Tackling Obesity
- Proper Diet : A diet which is tailored in such a way to balance the deranged kapha dosha keeping in mind it is to be of anti vata property.
(this can be personalised according to the prakriti of the individual) - Sleep : Sleep is an often neglected factor, in fact most deprived of , when it comes to the management of obesity, an indecorous sleep pattern may result in adverse eating habits which are linked.
- Physical Exercise : An indispensable part of the weight management plan, that helps burn calories ,tones the muscles and relishes our body with energy!
- Panchakarma Procedures : Dry deep tissue massage (mardanam and udwarthanam) is the most commonly administered ayurvedic treatment in which herbal powders and oils counter the stiffness of the body.
Other procedures like abhyanga (oil massage), basti (medicated enema) are effective in detoxifying the body which assists in proper fat metabolism.
Finally, Why Ayurveda?
Ayurveda, The holistic healing tradition, admires each individual for who we are, rather than a generalised treatment, that which targets the root cause of any disorder disregarding superficial healing, that science which places faith in a sound body, sound mind for a perfectly healthy individual.
