Causes
All the causes mentioned here are responsible for excess production of phleghm (balgham) as well as they also disturb body metabolism. The most common causes of obesity are Su-e- Hazam (dyspepsia), Ifraat-e- naum (excessive sleep), Ifraat-e- sukoon (excessive rest) and Qillat-e- harkat-e- badani (sedentary bodily movement). Other causes are
- Virasati and Khilqi Saman-e- Mufrat (Hereditary and Congenital)
- Excessive use of fatty diet like meat, sweet dishes (Martoob Ghiza)
- Excessive use of fatty oils (Martoob Roghaniyat)
- Coldness of temperament (Baroodat-e- Mizaj)
- lack of exercise (warzish ki kami)
- Excessive eating (Kasrat-e- ghiza)
- Excess of joy (Farhat)
- Soft cloths and soft bedding for sleeping
- Intake of excessive alcohol especially after meal
- Turkish bath (Hammam) especially after meals etc.
Preventive Measures
Obesity treatment must acknowledge that even modest weight loss can be beneficial. For example, a modest weight loss of 5%-10% of the initial weight, and long-term maintenance of that weight loss can bring significant health gains, including
- Lowered blood pressure.
- Reduced blood levels of cholesterol.
- Reduced risk of type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes (In the Nurses Health Study, women who lost 5 kilograms [11 pounds] of weight reduced their risk of diabetes by 50% or more).
- Decreased chance of stroke.
- Decreased complications of heart disease.
- Decreased overall mortality.
Treatment
Unani system of medicine is endowed with enormous single and compound drugs and regimes for the management of obesity that are safe and highly effective. Strategies involve general lifestyle modification includes healthy diet, maintain optimal weight, physical activity etc. Non-pharmacological therapy consists of diet and exercise, but most of the cases this form of therapy may not be helpful to reduce weight satisfactorily. Unani herbal Medicine plays an important role in the management of obesity. Number of herbs is documented in Unani classics to reduce weight and studies have also been carried out for its anti-obesity activity.
