Taeeum-type people in Sasang constitutional medicine have a reduced mitochondrial metabolism

Abstract

Sasang constitutional medicine (SCM) is a traditional form of medicine that is widely used in Korea to clinically diagnose and treat disease. The main characteristic of SCM is its classification of people according to physical constitution. The theory asserts that four different types of physical constitution exist: Taeyang, Soyang, Taeeum, and Soeum. One noticeable clinical observation in SCM is that Taeeum-type people are prone to obesity. Although extensive clinical investigations have shown this tendency in SCM, no scientific hypothesis has been proposed to delineate its mechanism. According to SCM theory, Taeeum-type people have a hypoactive lung system and a hyperactive liver system. In this paper, we propose a new hypothesis explaining this finding from a physiological viewpoint. A functional weakness in the lung system indicates intrinsic hypoactivity in the consumption of metabolic energy, therefore we deduced that the tendency can easily induce body weight gain via an increase in anabolism.

Keywords

• obesity
• Sasang constitutional medicine
• thermogenesis hypothesis