The number of obese people in our country is increasing because with the rapid development of modern industrialization, urbanization, mechanization, etc., people's living standards have continuously improved and dietary habits have changed significantly, resulting in an imbalance in nutrient intake and an increasing number of obese people.
【Definition of Obesity】
To measure whether the weight is standard, you can refer to the Body Mass Index (BMI) adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO). BMI is currently the most commonly used international standard for measuring body physique. The calculation method is: Body Mass Index (BMI) = weight (kg) ÷ height (m) 2. The higher the body mass index exceeds the standard, the higher the probability of developing diseases. According to research estimates, people with a BMI over 30 have a 50% to 100% higher mortality rate compared to those with a BMI below 25. For individuals with a BMI between 25 and 30, the mortality rate increases by 10% to 25%. Although the body mass index is a convenient method for measuring obesity, there are many differences due to differences in race, gender, and age. This uniform standard may not be suitable for different individuals, so the assessment of the risk of obesity-related diseases based on BMI should also be adjusted according to individual circumstances.
【Causes of Obesity】
The causes of obesity include congenital genetic factors and acquired environmental factors. There is currently a lot of evidence in the medical field showing that the mechanism for controlling appetite is a series of alternating signals from adipocytes and the hypothalamus. A protein called leptin is an important precursor that triggers these signals. It is produced by adipose tissue and its levels are regulated by factors such as eating, hunger, insulin, and glucocorticoids. If these regulations are imbalanced, it can lead to obesity.
Acquired factors include: food structures that tend to be high in fat and sugar; unbalanced diet, binge eating, alcohol abuse, etc.; women who gain weight due to pregnancy and have the obesity gene 825T may have difficulty returning to normal weight after childbirth; long hours of watching TV, addiction to video games, and being inactive; lower basal metabolic rate in middle age; endocrine or metabolic diseases such as pituitary, hypothalamus, thyroid, adrenal glands, ovaries, reproductive system, pancreatic islet cell tumors, etc.; increased abdominal fat due to decreased estrogen after menopause; obesity caused by taking sulfonylureas, insulin, tricyclic antidepressants, corticosteroids, contraceptives, and beta blockers; in addition, about 30% of obese patients have abnormal psychological factors that lead to insufficient serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain, which leads to binge eating.
【Common Weight Loss Diet】
(1) Spleen-strengthening and water-clearing foods: Coix seed porridge, red bean porridge, poria porridge, reed root porridge, winter melon porridge, lentil porridge, cold mixed asparagus, spleen-strengthening cake (tangerine peel, lotus leaf, hawthorn, fried malt), etc. Used for obese individuals with spleen deficiency and excessive dampness.
(2) Lipid-lowering and digestion-promoting foods: Corn silk drink, corn porridge, radish seed porridge, hawthorn porridge, lotus leaf porridge, coix seed and windproof porridge, ze xie porridge, three fairy rice (hawthorn, malt, barley), shepherd's purse mixed with tofu, sautéed mushrooms (mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms), cold mixed celery, celery stir-fried with mushrooms, etc. Used for obese individuals with phlegm and fat aggregation.
(3) Phlegm-removing and lipid-lowering foods: Apricot and coix seed porridge, mustard soup, wood ear soup, radish soup, etc.
(4) Laxative and bowel movement-promoting foods: Rhubarb rice, senna leaf porridge, etc.
(5) Qi-strengthening and yang-warming foods: Aconite lamb soup, raw astragalus cake, etc. Many of these dietary therapies have thousands of years of clinical experience, such as lotus leaf tea, which is derived from "Prescriptions of Diagnosis and Treatment". Take an appropriate amount of fresh lotus leaf and soak it in boiling water or decoct it in water to replace tea. Efficacy: diuresis and swelling reduction, lipid-lowering and weight loss. Suitable for obese individuals with yang deficiency and blood stasis. Red bean porridge is derived from "Compendium of Materia Medica". Cook an appropriate amount of washed red beans and 60g of japonica rice into porridge. Take it warm for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Efficacy: diuresis and swelling reduction, heat-clearing and dampness-removing, weight loss and slimming. Suitable for obese individuals with damp-heat type.
【Other Methods】
In addition, in combination with traditional Chinese medicine diet therapy, balancing water metabolism and digestion can significantly reduce weight. The pathological basis of obesity is mainly spleen deficiency, phlegm-dampness predominance, so its treatment should follow the principle of supplementing the deficient and purging the excessive. The commonly used tonifying method in clinical practice is to invigorate the spleen and supplement qi, to dispel water dampness, cut off the source of phlegm, promote digestion, and remove blood stasis to treat obesity.
