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Abstract Obesity emerged as a health issue during the past century, but prevalence of obesity and the numbers of people who are overweight has increased rapidly in many industrialized countries. In the US, where overweight and obesity among adults have been increasing for more than three decades, over 60 % of adults are now classified as either obese or overweight; among adults between 20 and 74 years of age, obesity nearly doubled from 12.8 % to 22.5 % between 1960 and 1994 (NHLBI and NAASO, 2000; and Wechsler, 2003). Around 991-1124 million $ relates to the direct healthcare costs of treating obesity and its consequences, comprising general practitioner consultations, inpatient and day case admissions, out-patient attendances and drug costs. This equates to 2.3-2.6 % of total net National Health Service (NHS) expenditure in 2001/02 (House of Commons Health Select Committee, 2004). Obesity is a major public health and economic concern. Worldwide, an estimated 1.6 billion adults were overweight and 400 million were obese in 2005. By 2015, it is expected there will be 2.3 billion overweight and more than 700 million obese adults worldwide (Katherine, 2009). In 2007-2008, the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity was 33.8 % among men, and 35.5% among women (Carroll et al., 2010). Among children aged 6 through 19 years, the prevalence of overweight (16.0%) was more than 3 times the target prevalence (5%) (Tomkinson et al., 2010) .Obesity contribution to many life threatening conditions makes it the second leading causes of death in the United States, contributing to more than 300 000 death each year (Dowell et al., 2006). There is also a significant healthcare cost associated with treating obesity and its direct consequences. And social care costs are higher for the obese. Higher levels of sickness and absence from work among the obese reduce productivity and impose costs on businesses. Premature mortality as a 2 INTRODUCTION consequence of obesity reduces the national output relative to the level it would be in the absence of obesity (Stuckler et al., 2006). Obesity is becoming a significant problem for many countries around the world. Rats of obesity have reached epidemic levels, and both developed and developing countries are now affected (Sareen et al., 2009). It has more doubled in prevalence in the last 30 years (Christina et al., 2009). The global prevalence of obesity has increased considerably in the last decade (Hursel and Westerterp, 2010). Obesity is a major risk factor for hypertension, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and some cancers in men and women. Other comorbid conditions that could occur as a result of obesity include sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, infertility, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, lower extremity venous stasis disease, gastroesophageal reflux, and urinary stress incontinence (Das, 2010). Phytotherapy is the treatment and prevention of diseases using plants, plant parts, such as leaves, flowers, roots, fruits, and seeds and preparations made from them, theses plants called medicinal plants, or herbs (Weiss and Fintelmann, 2000). Plants have always played a significant role in maintaining the health and improving the quality of human life; many western drugs owe their origin to plant extracts. The American Indians also utilized a number of native herbs for medicinal purposes. Self–prescribed herbal preparations are commonly consumed today for a whole list of common ailments or conditions, while these herbs are generally consumed in small amounts; it is interesting to note that they contain similar health– promoting phytochemicals as do fruits and vegetables. There is clearly a botanical and chemical similarity between many of the herbal seasonings and conventional vegetables in the human dietary (Criag, 2001). According to estimates of the World Health Organization, 80% of the world population is primarily reliant on traditional methods of healing which use empirical knowledge based on the use of medicinal plants (Muller and Mechler, 2005). |