Stress on health, not weight

Rajkumari Sharma Tankha

The other day I and my friends were discussing about children, a favourite topic with all mothers, when one of them gave me a shocker. She told me that her 10-year-old daughter has stopped having a meal after coming back from school in the afternoon. “She tells me that she doesn’t want to become fat like me,” said my friend.

I was not only shocked, but stupefied too. The child is saying this because she must have heard and seen her mother saying something on these lines. The mother, obviously, has a poor body image and her attitude is reflecting in her daughter’s behavior.

And that set me thinking.

Why are women so obsessed with their weight? Is a plump woman any less than her slimmer counterpart? Is a plump woman not accepted in our society? More importantly, does being fat make a woman any less?

So all the women and girls out there, please do not be overly concerned about you weight. Be more bothered about health. Focus on being healthy, disease-free, physically fit. I have seen many a fat women moving around, completing their chores with amazing alacrity while their slim counterparts are complaining about the work being excessive and tiring. In actual sense, it is not the work that is excess but their body that is weak and tiring them easily.

Many women go to great lengths to reduce. There is one I know who resorts to crash dieting to fit into a pair of jeans that she bought four years back. C’mon, change in size is inevitable as you grow up. You got to accept it with grace and practicality. You cannot have the figure of a 20-year-old at 40. The increase in size is a natural progression, the sooner you accept it, better it will be for your own sanity.

I don’t know if you all know this, but crash dieting depletes the body of essential nutrients and vitamins. It makes you look sick and dull. And it is totally unhealthy. Further, when the nutrition levels of the body go down, depression and anxiety go up.

Some days back I met an acquaintance of mine. Looking at her, I felt very concerned as she had lost a lot of weight and was looking very pale. When I asked, she proudly told me that she has joined a fitness centre (one where they use those machines to liquefy and remove fat cells from the body) to lose weight. I had half the mind to tell her that she was looking grossly unhealthy, but I couldn’t. It’s difficult pricking a hot air balloon. Isn’t it?

I have only one request to make, ladies. Accept your body type, feel great in your body, whatever size it is. Tell me when you make friends, do you do so only with slim and trim women/men or do you look a little deeper into a person’s soul to see the inner beauty? You have got your answer. Right!

So, the point is instead of stressing on becoming thin, stress on becoming healthy and physically fit. Take proper diet. Eat healthy food. Exercise regularly. Keep your heart and soul happy and mind contended. And for God’s sake do not fuss over weight issues before your children. Kids notice everything. Don’t give them the wrong messages.