Weight is not a necessary indicator of good health
Thursday - September 27, 2018 9:36 am ,
Category : WTN SPECIAL
WTN- People often associate weight with good health. Especially in India, any kind of weight gain is greeted by paranoia, and subsequent frenzied actions to lessen that extra ounce.
The youngsters of today are especially worried about their weight and any excess is scorned. Size zero is worshipped and any addition of a pound or two that adds flab to the muscle is a strict no-no. It misshapes the ‘ideal’ body structure and reduces one’s face value in the party and friend circles.
Millions of Indian youth today hit the gym spending thousands every month just to allay this fear of weight gain or to lose some kilos to remain in the ‘ideal’ shape. Fortunately, as nutritionists say, there is nothing to fear if a person adds a few kilos to his or her normal weight. In fact, they say, as long as there is ample energy and positivity in the mind and body and as long as weight doesn’t directly debilitate or affect normal sprightliness of the body, there is no reason to go for an immediate weight loss measure by drastically changing eating habits or taking to exhausting exercises at once, which can be more harmful than that extra weight.
The human body is a flexible entity and some change throughout life is inevitable, unless surgically and artificially stopped. The natural elasticity of the body has to be allowed, which includes minor weight loss and gain from time to time, which actually doesn’t disturb any metabolic or biological setup. It is a wrong notion to be obsessed with weight and try out multiple unnatural ways to control it.
Celebrated nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar believes even food should not be feared and one need not be too selective about food. What is locally and naturally available is perfectly consumable without much fear of weight gain. Today there is an excessive stress on what food to avoid for maintaining a fit body. Diwekar says it’s a myth. Unhealthy food is avoidable but otherwise, most of what we eat is fine for a general diet. Paneer, pulses, eggs, fruits and vegetables, even fried food, milk, rice, sweet— all that are indigenous and we are inured to— can be happily taken in daily diet without fear of flab or undue plumpness. Influenced by advertisement gimmicks people are often swayed and make the wrong choices by getting too deep into the details, without realising the futility and ill-effects of such constantly adjusting dietary changes.
Companies take advantage of this gullibility and fitness obsession of the people and thus constantly influence consumer choices by introducing newer variants of the same products or launching the same products in a new look and with a new name to spike their sales. These are not necessarily much different or innovative or something special as are projected. But nevertheless, people think making such ‘wise’ choices will keep their bodies ever young and ever fit. They forget that the body is a transient figure that will never remain the same.
The structure and shape of the body as well as its fitness is largely dependent on a variety of factors, the most important being one’s genetic mapping and hereditary traits. Food and exercise is only a part of the bigger puzzle. Therefore, it is pointless to run after ways to shape up the body. At one point of time it has to get back to where it was. Important is to keep in good health— disease free, alert and sprightly, and positive in spirit. External chicanery wears out soon.
-Window To News
The youngsters of today are especially worried about their weight and any excess is scorned. Size zero is worshipped and any addition of a pound or two that adds flab to the muscle is a strict no-no. It misshapes the ‘ideal’ body structure and reduces one’s face value in the party and friend circles.
Millions of Indian youth today hit the gym spending thousands every month just to allay this fear of weight gain or to lose some kilos to remain in the ‘ideal’ shape. Fortunately, as nutritionists say, there is nothing to fear if a person adds a few kilos to his or her normal weight. In fact, they say, as long as there is ample energy and positivity in the mind and body and as long as weight doesn’t directly debilitate or affect normal sprightliness of the body, there is no reason to go for an immediate weight loss measure by drastically changing eating habits or taking to exhausting exercises at once, which can be more harmful than that extra weight.
The human body is a flexible entity and some change throughout life is inevitable, unless surgically and artificially stopped. The natural elasticity of the body has to be allowed, which includes minor weight loss and gain from time to time, which actually doesn’t disturb any metabolic or biological setup. It is a wrong notion to be obsessed with weight and try out multiple unnatural ways to control it.
Celebrated nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar believes even food should not be feared and one need not be too selective about food. What is locally and naturally available is perfectly consumable without much fear of weight gain. Today there is an excessive stress on what food to avoid for maintaining a fit body. Diwekar says it’s a myth. Unhealthy food is avoidable but otherwise, most of what we eat is fine for a general diet. Paneer, pulses, eggs, fruits and vegetables, even fried food, milk, rice, sweet— all that are indigenous and we are inured to— can be happily taken in daily diet without fear of flab or undue plumpness. Influenced by advertisement gimmicks people are often swayed and make the wrong choices by getting too deep into the details, without realising the futility and ill-effects of such constantly adjusting dietary changes.
Companies take advantage of this gullibility and fitness obsession of the people and thus constantly influence consumer choices by introducing newer variants of the same products or launching the same products in a new look and with a new name to spike their sales. These are not necessarily much different or innovative or something special as are projected. But nevertheless, people think making such ‘wise’ choices will keep their bodies ever young and ever fit. They forget that the body is a transient figure that will never remain the same.
The structure and shape of the body as well as its fitness is largely dependent on a variety of factors, the most important being one’s genetic mapping and hereditary traits. Food and exercise is only a part of the bigger puzzle. Therefore, it is pointless to run after ways to shape up the body. At one point of time it has to get back to where it was. Important is to keep in good health— disease free, alert and sprightly, and positive in spirit. External chicanery wears out soon.
-Window To News
