Obese

Obese is due to malfunction of body metabolism which absorb too much nutrition which accumulated in our tissues as fat content. A standard definition of obese is described as body weight exceeding the standard weight by 20% or more, while fat content in body exceeding 30%. Actual weight above the standard but no more than 20% is called overweight. Weight gain could be due to water accumulation through muscles¡¦ weight exercises. Obese exists among all ages, mostly between 40 to 50 years of age, more likely in females than males. Female fatty tissues distributes mostly in abdomen, butt, and four limbs. Male fatty tissues lay mostly at neck and torso. Waist¡¦s circular length is an important indicator of abdominal measurement. It reflects the level of fat accumulation. Abdomen fat accumulation is due to a series of metabolism malfunctions.

Cause of Obese

Obese has two types: primary and secondary. Primary obese can be either simple obese or water accumulation. Water accumulation kind can be seen mostly middle aged and young females. It can be swollen, lighter in the morning and heavier in the evening, or sudden increasing weight at standing up. If there is no significant reason for gaining weight, it¡¦s most likely called simple obese. Secondary obese includes other endocrine issues and genetic illness. It can be due to increasing cortisol, non-insulin dependence of diabetic patients.

Clinical Presentation

Depending on the cause of disease, simple obese females most likely to have fatty tissues in the area of lower abdomen, four limbs, butt, and breasts. For males, it is likely to show up in head, neck, and torso. Common symptoms include a lot of sweating, tired easily, some patients may have abdominal distention, body pain or skin prone to infection. Serious obese patients may have lung nodules which cause breathing difficulties. Female obese patients may have irregular menstruation, amenorrhea, infertility. Obese often associates with diabetes, hypertention, hardened artery vessels, chronic heart disease, cholecystitis, and gallbladder stones.

Treatments:

1. Diet Control

The goal is to offset the extra calorie with negatives so it turns balanced. It requires patients complete understanding and cooperate. It requires long-term commitment in order to see the result. Diet Control in a general level can be used for lightly obese, suitably reduce sugar and fat intake. Serious diet control is good for moderate obese, the daily intake should be around 6,000 to 8,000 calories for males and 4,800 to 60,000 calories for females. While daily protein is aobut 1 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of food, sugar content 150 to 250 grams per day, the rest is fat content. But the animal fat content in the daily intake should be controlled and limited. Weight loss should be 0.5 to 1 kilogram a week. If the calorie retrieved from food intake exceeds those needed by body, extra calorie is transformed as fat content and stored in body getting fat. Therefore, sugar and fat are called ¡§getting obese¡¨ food. The key to weight control diet is to limit the intake of sugar and fat content. Other nutrition is allowed as usual. It is not necessary to get hungry or fast. In general it is to choose from milk, milk-by-product (milk powder, cheese), meat without fat/oil/grease (beef, lamb, pork), fish and eggs, vegetables, and fruits.

A proven diet method can serve as an example.

2. Supplement Diet with Exercise Activities

Exercises and diet combo can achieve a better result. There are variety of exercises to choose from, like walking is a good exercise for weight loss. It is safe, not easy to cause injuries, or over tire physically. It is good to walk at normal speed. For each mile of walking it is equivalent to the work (calorie) of 10 gram of fat. You can also use individual situation to jog, climb stairs, aerobic exercises, or swimming, etc. Obese person can participate lots of activities. Reduce extra calorie by activities. When the calories lost or spent trough exercises and activities are more than the calorie we absorb through eating, it will reduce weight.

Weight Loss Drugs

At the present time, weight loss drugs are available from both the western and Chinese TCM sources¡G Western dietary control drugs are acting mainly through thalamus' gustatory sensory systems to control appetite, then through ganglion neurons to suppress appetite so obese patients are more incline toward diet control. Western diet drugs contains more or less side effects. It is necessary and advisable to use them under physicians' directions and constant examination of its effects by routine lab tests.

Chinese Herbs

TCM herbs which can be used for weight loss include: huang qi, fang feng, ze xie, shan zha, shui niu jiao, cao bai zhu, xian ling pi, dan shen, shou wu, ren ya ping, yin chen, shen da huang, chen pi, etc. This formula can benefit qi, strengthen spleen, tonify kidney, and descend and expel fat & phlegm. Three months are for one treatment cycle. Another formula includes: ze xie, cao jue ming, he ye, shen da huang. This formula clears heat, benefit dampness and expel phlegm/fat.