Clearly something is out of balance. More than two-thirds of all American adults over the age of 20 are overweight or obese, according to Health, United States, 2012, an annual report on the health of the nation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Center for Health Statistics. If the current trend continues, it is estimated that 42 percent of Americans – men, women and children - will be obese by 2030.
With obesity on the rise, never before in the West have so many diet programs and products been available to those who want to lose weight. Some plans count calories or carbohydrates; others control what, how much, and when you eat; a few feature supplements or appetite suppressants, diuretics or laxatives; there are the workouts regimens and repetitions; and most extreme is stomach stapling. These weight-loss regimes are well advertised in various media, and classes, books, tapes, and DVDs abound everywhere. Americans now spend an estimated $55 billion a year on diet programs and products. Why then, are so many of us overweight?
Western weight-loss strategies and methods focus almost exclusively on external factors—it's all about the weight and the food. Unlike these practices, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) addresses the root cause of weight conditions. TCM considers excess weight a symptom of a greater health problem. It's the end result of a series of internal events in the body that usually begin with a Qi (vital energy) deficiency and imbalance. If the root cause of excess weight is not addressed, weight loss will never be permanent. This concept is supported by statistics that show that 95 percent of dieters ultimately regain a portion or all of the weight they have lost in the past.
According to TCM theory, in order to have good health you must have sufficient Qi and your internal organs must work in harmony. If there isn't enough Qi, one or more organs can become imbalanced and develop an energy function disorder. When this happens they cannot perform their innate tasks, for example, promoting proper metabolism and ridding your body of excess water and fat. Very often, health problems like headaches, emotional difficulties such as depression, and allergies precede a weight gain. These are all signals that the body is having internal functional difficulties. TCM believes that a balanced body does not have weight problems. When your Qi is strong and balanced, weight will be lost naturally and normal weight will be maintained.