Muscle Building Information - Understanding The Causes Of Obesity To Avoid Obesity

According to the study of Ayurveda, the seven primary tissue elements in the human body are referred to as Sapta Dhaatu, which means The Seven Elements. These Dhaatus or Elements are the primary factors in measuring a person's state of health. When the Dhaatus of a person are in conformity with the prescribed equilibrium state in Ayurveda, then such a person is said to experience a state of optimum health.

Out of the seven Dhaatus listed in Ayurveda, one is called Meda. This stands for fats. Certain amount of Meda is essential for the smooth healthy functioning of the human body. Meda in the proper amount in the human body helps with very vital bodily functions. Meda insulates the body against external cod weather conditions by ensuring the retention and maintenance of the natural body heat.  

Meda also forms a natural shock absorption mechanism around the entire musculoskeletal structure of the body, and also around all vital and sensitive organs of the body, such as the brain, heart, liver, kidneys etc. Meda also acts as a reservoir of energy in the absence or deficiency of the body's primary sources of energy, such as glucose, sugar and carbohydrates. Finally, Meda is responsible for the efficient digestion of the essential fatty acids consumed by the human body.

Irrespective of the unavoidable functions of Meda in the human body, excess of anything is not good, and the same principle is applicable to Meda too. Excess of Meda causes layers of fat deposition, throughout the internal lining of the largest organ of the body - the human skin, and it also causes similar layers of fat deposition around the other internal organs of the body. This is then the onslaught of Obesity or Sthaulya.

Initially the deposition of Meda is in the form of globules, over the adipose tissues. The real damage however, starts when excessive Meda, causes these globules to invade or enter the cells of the muscles, and other important cells of the body.  

Ayurveda puts forth three types of Doshas or Body Types. Each body type is associated with a different set of potential vulnerabilities. The three types of Doshas are Vata Dosha, Pitta Dosha and Kapha Dosha. People with Vata Dosha are more prone to the issue of obesity and fluctuating body weights. The reason behind this is that people with Vata Dosha are more prone to anxiety, nervousness, and lack of self-confidence, pessimism and frustration, thereby leading to emotional eating, which makes them prone to morbid obesity.

People with Pitta Dosha are likely to be naturally slim and trim. This is because they have a naturally high digestive fire, thereby giving them a naturally high metabolic rate, which usually keep their figure slim and trim throughout life. However, people with Pitta Dosha can have a voracious craving for food, thereby making some people with Pitta dosha obese as they grow older, but this is rare.

The third type of Dosha is the Kapha Dosha. These people too have a high tendency to be prone to obesity, but they will not face the kind of morbid obesity faced by Vata people. Kapha people experience a slow metabolic rate, arising from a naturally sluggish digestive system. They are prone to water retention, and even though this is not fat deposition, the overall visual effect is a bloated figure, in comparison to Pitta people, and a compact figure in comparison to Vata people.