Why are we fat? Because some of us are predisposed to become obese. According to nutritionists, being overweight or obese is neither a result from imbalance between energy intake and output nor a result from bad lifestyle habits. Number of western medical doctors explains that obesity is genetically inherited just as your skin, hair and eye color. Likewise, in oriental medicine, certain physical constitutions (or physical makeup) are responsible for being obese.

However, this does not mean there's nothing you can do to prevent being fat. Obesity is the result of many influences. Physical constitution is only one of them. One may well be predisposed to becoming obese, but predisposed isn't the same thing as predestined: your physical constitutions may make reducing fat more difficult, but not impossible. Regardless of your physical constitution, you can fight obesity through eliminating various obese factors.

According to oriental medical viewpoint, human body is composed of Jang-Bu: the five viscera (liver, lungs, heart, kidney, and spleen) and the six entrails (of gall bladder, stomach, small and large intestines, the paunch, the bladder and the bowels). Maintaining good health requires both the balance of Jang-Bu and the harmony of the yin-yang forces (the cosmic dual forces). When people lose balance or lack harmony, they cannot maintain normal condition anymore, being prone to get sick. Thus, the principle of oriental obesity treatment is improving patient's physical constitution to restore the balance and harmony in human body.

In oriental medicine, obesity is defined as 'Fat & dampness(肥濕)', excessive fat and water, or over-accumulation of Damp phlegm(濕痰), the body wastes from poor circulation of energy (氣) and blood, which result from metabolic imbalance between hyper and hypo activity in certain organs.
According to the Sasang (four type) Constitutional Medicine originated in Korea, obesity occurs frequently among people who have stronger liver and spleen, which are related to digestion, absorption and storage. In this matter, obesity treatment should start from diagnosing physical constitution of each patient. After diagnosis, treatment must proceed to restore normal body condition through balancing or moderating functions of Jang-Bu. Simultaneously, treatment should also include harmonizing body's um-yang forces and enhancing energy and resistance.

The obesity treatment program prevents overeating by suppressing the autonomic nervous system of liver, spleen, stomach and small intestine that is responsible for stimulating appetite. Moreover, the program aids to boost calorie consumption and waste discharge by activating function of heart, liver, kidney and large intestine. Maintaining and balancing interactions of Jang-Bu, the program protects patients against physical or mental disorder such as dizziness and nausea and side effects from lowered resistance including hair loss, amenorrhea, osteoporosis, influenza, gastritis or diarrhea.