Development of functional food for the management of obesity

Obesity and excessive weight gain are one of the leading risk factors for the onset of various diseases and disorders. At least 2.8 million adults die each year due to obesity-related complications. With an alarming increase in the prevalence of obesity, both nutrition and exercise play a key role in the prevention of obesity and its control. Functional food interventions are currently being investigated on a large-scale basis as potential treatments for obesity and weight management. The study was envisaged to find out the lipase inhibition activity of selected herbs and develop a functional food for the management of obesity. Ten antiobesity herbs were selected and downstream analysis was done and lipase inhibition activity was analyzed. Among the selected herbs the herb with maximum lipase inhibition activity was made into biomolecule concentrate and used as an ingredient for the development of functional food. By using dhal as base, bran of cereals and millets (for fiber content) and biomolecule concentrate of the herb the functional food was developed. This functional food when supplemented to obese individuals would help to reduce the body weight without compromising the energy and nutritional requirements