Usually we read on the web, on blogs and in newspapers that obesity and overweight according to Ayurveda are due to Kapha Dosha (water) or that an “oversized” person is a person with Kapha constitution!
This is a superficial view of Ayurvedic dissemination!
Obesity and overweight, which in Ayurveda is called Mandagni, are a modern problem; of the prosperous civilisation in which the availability of food abounds and where the lack of physical movement does not stimulate the normal hunger and metabolic function of the tissues.
Obesity depends on a bad digestion of the elements present in foods and the faulty assimilation of nutrients in the chain of Dhatus (Tissues), which constitute the human being. It is a defect of the digestive capacity or Agni of the individual. The AMA (toxins) produced in the gut, spreads in the tissues to the surface of the body affecting the subcutaneous in which it settles, clogs the channels and leads to the retention of fatty tissue. The well-known cellulites is nothing more than the initial stage of obesity and overweight that occurs when the Vata Dosha gets worse with age and with the persistence of unsuitable living habits. The result is the development of a metabolic syndrome that involves circulatory disorders and diabetes. So you have to avoid the formation of AMA, NOT to be confused with Kapha constitution in which the tissues are physiologically well fed, abundant, but tonic.
To stimulate Agni you can use the powders Appeto Virya® and Trikatu Virya®, as appetizer and Jathara Virya® to stimulate and detoxify the liver. The tablets Kancha Virya® serve to open the lymph channels blocked by AMA. For external you can apply compresses or take hot baths with the powder Unnah Virya® and you can oil the body with Ashu oil, which are Ayurvedic preparations with the properties to relieve bloating and toning.