Obesity in children and it’s homoeopathic management

Obesity in children and it’s homoeopathic management

homoeopathic

ABSTRACT: In today’s era, obesity can be considered as an epidemic problem in developed countries because day-to-day activities of the children are changed, they spend more time on playing video games on computer, watching television, etc. Unhealthy food is their diet which constitute more calories and sugar content. Low physical activity, avoidance of outdoor games leads to accumulation of more fat in the body as their intake is more than their physical activity.

KEYWORDS: Childhood, overweight, homoeopathy, lifestyle disorder.

ABBREVIATIONS: BMI – body mass index, TSH – thyroid stimulating hormone, T3 – tri-iodothyronine, T4 – tetra-iodothyronine.

INTRODUCTION:

Obesity implies too much fat in the body. Overweight due to extra muscles, bones or water or the much fat in the body. Children with BMI more than 85 percentile for age considered as overweight. The children whose BMI is more than 95th percentile can be considered obese. It is a life style disorder obesity is defining in different sub-headings:1

  1. Wight for height
  2. Skin fold thickness
  3. Waist circumference
  4. Waist hip ratio1

Causes:

  • Exogenous obesity- constitutional, excessive intake of food, decrease energy expenditure, fat cell hyperplasia.
  • Endogenous obesity – endocrine cause, genetic cause, drugs

General Examination: One needs to differentiate between constitution or pathological obesity.1,2

  • History: The physician should ask about the child eating habit, physical activity throughout day. Asking about snacks habit, meal pattern any psychological maladjustment in child usual behavior history of past illness or any injury in CNS.
  • Physical examination: Child with constitutional obesity generally have normal height as per their age. They have proportional obesity and rule out pathology.
  • Laboratory Investigation: Routine examination is done T3, T4, TSH for hypothyroidism. In cushing’s syndrome, plasma cortisol level is increase, Genetic testing for parder willi syndrome.

Complications:1

  • Bone: Facture, slipped, capital femoral
  • Metabolic: Diabetes type 2, insulin resistance 
  • Cardiovascular: Hypertension atherosclerosis
  • Respiratory: Obstructive sleep apnoea.
  • Gastrointestinal: fatty liver, gall stone

Management:1,2

Childhood obesity is a major challenge for the society. It should be corrected by

  • Lifestyle of the child
  • Control the eating habit
  • By increasing the physical activity
  • Promoting nutritional diet

HOMOEOPATHY MANAGEMENT:3,4,5

  1. Ammonium carbonicum This remedy is found in rather stout patients who are always tired and weary, easily catch cold. Obese patients with a weak heart, wheezing, feel suffocated. Obese women with various troubles in consequence of leading a sedentary life. Great aversion to water; cannot bear to touch it. Sad, weepy, unreasonable.
  2. Antimonium crudum For children inclined to grow fat: for the extremes of life. All the complaints are aggravated by heat and cold bathing. Child cannot bear to be touched or looked at. Desire for acid, pickles. The constitutions are very irritable and fretful. 
  3. Calcarea ostrearum Constitution is fair, fatty, and flabby. Increased perspiration, swelling of glands, scrofulous and rachitic condition, ravenous hunger. Disposed to grow fat, children with red face, flabby muscles.
  4. Capsicum annuum Persons with light hair, blue eyes, nervous but stout and plethoric habit. Phlegmatic diathesis; lack of reactive forces, especially with fat people, easily exhausted; opposed to physical exertion, get homesick easily. Children; dread open air; always chilly; clumsy, fat and disinclined to work or think.
  5. Fucus vesiculosus – A remedy for obesity and Non-toxic goitre; also exophthalmia. Digestion is furthered and flatulence diminished. Obstinate constipation; forehead feels as if compressed by an Iron ring. Thyroid enlargement in obese subjects.
  6. Graphites – Patients who are rather stout, fair complexion with tendency to skin affections and constipation, fat, chilly and costive, with delayed menstrual history. Tendency to obesity.
  7. Kalium carbonicum Patients are fleshy, aged people with dropsical and paretic tendencies. Sensitive to every atmospheric change and intolerance of cold weather. Dark hair, lax fiber, inclined to obesity.
  8. Lac defloratum: Obesity associated with fatty degeneration of tissues. It is also helpful in dealing with complications of obesity.
  9. Phytolacca berry Clinically found to be efficacious in obesity.
  10. Senega It is suited to plethoric persons; or persons tending to obesity; tall, slender, sprightly women; fat chubby children. Faintness when walking in open air. Anxiety; with hasty respiration.

REPERTORIAL APPROACH:

  1. Murphy’s Repertory 6
  2. Children – obesity, in: Ant –c. Bad. bar-c. bell. CALC. Caps. Ferr. Kali- bi. sacch- I  seneg.
  3. Constitutions-ADIPOSE tissue, increased- children, especially in:  Ant-c. CALC.
  4. Constitutions- LARGE, fat, people, bloated – chubby, short necked children, disposed to croup:  KALI- BI.
  5. Constitutions – OBESITY – children, in: Ant –c. Bad. bar-c. bell. CALC. Caps. Ferr. Kali- bi. sacch- I seneg.
  6. Diseases – OBESITY – children, in:  Ant –c. Bad. bar-c. bell. CALC. Caps. Ferr. Kali- bi. sacch- I. seneg.
  7. Diseases – OBESITY – young people, in: Ant-c. CALC. calc- act. lach.
  8. Synthesis Repertory7
  9. GENERALS – OBESITY- children, in:  Ant-c. Bad. bar-c. CALC. Caps. cina. Ferr. graph. Ip. Kali-bi. kali-c. puls. sacch. seneg.
  10. GENERAL – TALL people – obese; and children: cina.
  11. GENERALS – OBESITY – young people, in:  Ant-c. calc. calc-act. lach.
  12. Complete Repertory8
  13. GENERALITIES- OBESITY- children, in: alum. Ant-c. bac. Bad. bar-c. bell. CALC. Caps. cina. Ferr. graph. ip. Kali- bi. lac-d. lap-a. sacch-a. seneg. sulph.
  14. GENERALITIES- OBESITY- children, in – fat anaemic babies with iodine appetite:  lap-a.
  15.  GENERALITIES – OBESITY – young people, in:  Ant-c. calc. calc- act. lac-d. lach.
  • Boericke O. Repertory9
  • GENERALITIES- Obesity- children, in:  Ant-c. bar-c. bell. Calc. Caps. Ferr. Kali- bi. sacch.

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION:

Obesity, a life style disorder and a challenging problem of today, is increasing day by day due to other health related problems. To control this problem, one should motivate the children for reducing weight, or using homoeopathic medicine improves the metabolic activity of the body which helps the child to reduce weight.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY:

  1. Paul VK, Bagga A. Ghai Essential Pediatrics. 8th ed. New Delhi: CBS publisher & distribution Pvt. Ltd. 2009.
  2. Parthasarathy A. IAP Text Book of Pediatrics. 6th ed. New Delhi: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd.; 2016.
  3. Boericke W, Boericke OE. Pocket Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica &  Repertory comprising of the characteristics and guiding symptoms of all  remedies. New York: Boericke & Runyon; 2007.
  4. Allen HC. Keynotes and Characteristics with comparisons of some of the leading remedies of Materia Medica. New Delhi: Indian Books and Periodicals publishers, 10th edition.
  5. Phatak S. Materia medica of homoeopathic medicines. 2nd ed. New Delhi: B. JAIN publishers(P.) Ltd.; 1999.
  6. Murphy R. Homoeopathic Medical Repertory.2nd Revised ed., New Delhi: B Jain Publishers (P) Ltd. 2006
  7. Schroyens F. Augmented clinical synthesis. 9.1 ed. New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers(P) Ltd; 2005
  8. Zandvoort R. Complete Repertory. 2019
  9.  Boericke W. New Manual of Homoeopathic Materia Medica and Repertory. 2ndreaugmented and revised ed., New Delhi: B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd.2000

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