My health checkup shows an abdominal obesity rate (WHR) of 0.82. What exactly does this mean, and why is it preventing me from losing weight?
The Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) is calculated by dividing your waist circumference by your hip circumference. Rather than total weight, it indicates where fat is concentrated in your body. A value exceeding 0.8 to 0.9 typically signals a significant accumulation of visceral fat. As visceral fat increases, it releases inflammatory substances that lower metabolic efficiency, creating a vicious cycle where weight loss stalls even with caloric restriction.
I have personally experienced this; during a period of intense work where I sat all day, I developed a protruding belly. I assumed simple exercise would fix it, but the weight remained stubborn. The medical reason is that increased visceral fat releases inflammatory substances called 'adipokines.' These interfere with insulin function, shifting the body's constitution from burning energy to storing it, which drastically drops metabolic efficiency.
In Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM), this condition is viewed as 'Dameum' (痰飮), or phlegm-fluid retention—sticky waste products formed when fluid metabolism is impaired. Specifically, if you are in a state of 'Bi-heo' (脾虛), or Spleen Deficiency, your body cannot efficiently convert food into energy, leading to the accumulation of 'Seup-dam' (濕痰, damp-phlegm) in the abdominal area.
Ultimately, you are caught in a cycle: [Spleen Deficiency → Generation of Phlegm-Fluid → Abdominal Obesity → Metabolic Decline]. This cannot be solved simply by eating less. You must resolve stagnant Qi and restore Spleen function to truly feel your body lighten. Let's carefully examine your current metabolic state together.
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