Q. I want to know why I keep gaining weight. How can I determine the cause of my obesity?

The causes of obesity differ for each person, so initially even I feel a bit overwhelmed. Most people who have failed at diets share common feedback: 'I gain weight just by eating slightly late' or 'Even increasing exercise doesn't help much.' This is often because the body’s internal balance is disrupted rather than simply consuming too many calories. Therefore, at Baekrokdam, we start with Traditional Korean Medicine diagnostics. 1) A questionnaire confirms lifestyle habits: sleep duration, sleep quality, stress levels, and digestive symptoms. Skipping meals, late eating, and constipation tendencies are important clues. 2) Pulse and tongue diagnosis determines constitutional patterns: a specialist checks the pulse and examines the tongue for signs of blood stasis (瘀血, eo-hyeol), spleen deficiency (脾虛, bi-heo), or phlegm-fluid (痰飮, dam-eum). For example, a dusky tongue with purplish spots indicates blood stasis; a swollen tongue with tooth marks suggests spleen deficiency; a thick tongue coating points to phlegm-fluid. 3) Body composition analysis assesses fat distribution: evaluating abdominal obesity type and segmental muscle-to-fat ratios provides objective insight into body balance. 4) Based on the integrated results, a personalized treatment plan is discussed: for blood stasis, herbs to improve blood circulation; for spleen deficiency, formulas to strengthen digestive function; for phlegm-fluid, herbal medicine to regulate fluid metabolism. Through these examinations, you can specifically understand 'why I alone keep gaining weight.'