AYURVEDIC UNDERSTANDING OF STHOULYA (OVERWEIGHT/ OBESITY)

*Dr. Saniya C. K. and Dr. Subhrajyoti Chakraborty

ABSTRACT

Overweight or sthoulya is being evolved as a major health hazard in urbanized societies and the overweight population has more than doubled in a few decades as a result of changes occurring in food habits and occupational patterns. It has significant health implications in the form of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart diseases etc. People are wary of adopting methods which prompts them to undergo surgical procedures and take modern chemical formulation, fearing both grim side effects and the huge cost involved in even for a short-term treatment. Therefore, traditional Ayurvedic methods assume a greater significance. For this, understanding of the concept of sthoulya based on Ayurvedic principles is very essential. This review article is an attempt to describe the Ayurvedic concept of sthoulya by incorporating the nidana (disease causation), samprapthi (etiopathogenesis), laskshana (signs and symptoms), upadrava (complication) and chikitsa (management strategies).

Keywords: Sthoulya, obesity, overweight, nidana, samprapthi, chikitsa.