Appreciate the way you are, not how you look- Drug Today Medical Times

Drug Today Medical Times of India

When we talk about fitness, the first thing that crosses our mind is shedding the perceptible extra fat in our body. Most of us form an image of the bodies in mind. It involves our perception, imagination, emotions and feeling about one’s own body.

Both men and women bother about their body image. In most cases people think they are overweight when they are not. As per a study almost 45 per cent of women and 23 per cent of men in the healthy weight think they are overweight.

Poor body image is associated to dieting or eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge eating and other mental health issues such as low self esteem, depression. People who prefer dieting may not know about the risks thereof. Most of us think diet in its more insidious incarnation as a temporary and highly restrictive programme of eating in order to lose weight, but the fact is that about 95 per cent of people who lose weight by dieting will regain it in 1-5 years. It does not work in long run.

Ojaswi, a college going girl said, “I am always worried about fitness. At 47 kg weight, my friends reassure me that I am just perfect for my age and height. However, I was not convinced and went on dieting, skipping one meal a day and taking little amount of desserts and sweets occasionally. After all this, I still feel I am way behind the perfect figure.”

Actresses like Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Alia Bhatt have become role models for teenage girls for their chiseled frames. Sonam Kapoor, who was 86 kg till age 19, reduced her weight to become slim. Alia Bhatt, heartthrob of generation X, also lost almost 16 Kg in three months for her first movie Student of the Year after extreme dieting.

This poor body image may lead to various problems sometimes. Extreme dieting is a consequence of dieting improperly and pushing the limits of your body well beyond its capabilities. People who suffer psychologically from body image and feel the need to lose weight quickly are the ones to usually try extreme dieting.

Afsha, sibling of a figure freak who lost her life after extreme dieting said, “My sister opted for excessive dieting. She ate only once a day. After a month of the rigours of dieting, she died. Doctors attributed her death to intense weight loss.”

Apart from physical health, dieting is detrimental to deterioration of mental state too. On physical side, consequences are physical fatigue, continuous hunger pangs, sinus problems like post nasal drip, bloodshot eyes, gallbladder disease, rashes, atrophy of muscles, seizures, malnutrition that may lead to dying, dehydration, acidosis and constipations. On the mental side, consequences are irritability, depression, lower sex drive, risk of being vulnerable to more eating disorders.

Vidhya Balan, a brilliant Bollywood actress, has always had to struggle to keep her weight under control till she realised that she had been doing things the wrong way. She would starve herself and go without eating for sometimes twelve to fourteen hours. All this would inevitably lead to weight gain. Then she felt that the beauty of her face and eyes have never failed to capture the attention of audience. After trying out various fitness regimes, she came up with the realisation that she needed an attitudinal change towards reaching her particular goal and not set up unrealistic goals for herself.

Women who are on an overdrive to lose weight need to bear one thing in mind. Fat is not all that bad. It is natural for them to have fat on hips and thighs as it provides them a protective cover essential for fertility and breastfeeding as well as prevention of osteoporosis. It also improves eye sight, hair and teeth quality.

Drug Today Medical Times of India- http://www.drugtodayonline.com/