ASSESSMENT OF MEDAVRIDDHI & STHAULYA WITH OBJECTIVE PARAMETERS - A VISIONARY STUDY

The nature has taught man how to be healthy before the science has discovered the laws of health. Obesity occurs as a result of lack of physical activity with increased intake of food and it can be diagnosed earlier i.e. overweight. Symptoms of medavriddhi & sthaulya are given in our Samhitas. Charaka has not stated medavriddhi but explained sthaulya whereas Vagbhata has explained medavriddhi & not sthaulya in detailed form of nidana panchaka. Most of these symptoms are overlapping; so a question arises whether medavriddhi & sthaulya are same or different and it is a difficult task to differentiate between the two. There is a need to develop a certain parameter which will help medico as well as non medico persons to get aware of this disease. This study has been done to develop objective parameters to diagnose medavriddhi & sthaulya. For this study, symptoms of medavriddhi & sthaulya have been reviewed and compared. As per Ayurvedic anthropometry, aayama & vistara of body parts have been graded. Possible modern parameters have been considered with their limitations. It is found that measurement of body fat percentage could be an effective modern parameter to diagnose and differentiate between medavriddhi & sthaulya. It is concluded that with the help of body fat monitor, range of body fat percentage could be determined to differentiate between medavriddhi & sthaulya. If sthaulya is diagnosed earlier at the stage of medavriddhi, hazards of sthaulya can be prevented. These sincere efforts will contribute in maintaining sound health.