The Hindu Business Line : The ballooning of Americans

America is splitting at the seams, literally. But no one seems to care. For now, big is beautiful and obesity, a business. Feeding off the fat of the land, garment companies are launching a whole new range of trendy plus size clothing and advertisements aggressively campaign flab as fashionable.

AT AN eatery in interior Russia, I was obviously pleased to see a group of healthy-looking youngsters drinking my product at breakfast. So I rushed over to their table and proudly introduced my corporate identity.

"Oh! So, it's you who supplies this juice?" The tone was almost accusatory. "Yes, my company has the biggest contract from your country," I returned.

"This excessively sweet insipid liquid! You call it juice?" The retort hit me like a bullet.

"No, it is fruit drink, not juice; but it has real fruit pulp." I countered. "And what else do you put in it?" my interrogator was relentless."Water, sugar and preservatives for long shelf-life," I answered, knowing what would follow.

"Don't you know too much sugar is bad? Can't you supply fresh fruit juices in aseptic cartons without sugar and preservatives?" the youth asked.

Despite the grilling I was evidently receiving, I was pleased with these students' awareness of modern fruit processing technologies and above all their health consciousness.

Eastern Europe and Asia are refreshingly health oriented. Students from these countries studying in America are also religiously health conscious. Unfortunately, at home, where Americanisation is the new buzzword for globalisation, they lose zeal too soon and balloon after thirty.

Thanks to the McDonalds and Pizza Huts that have come up on erstwhile socialistic soil, the new crops of Thais, Koreans, Filipinos and Japanese are bulkier than their fathers.

From my research, I've found out that 95.54 per cent of the gym-goers in the US are the right-or under-weight. The remaining 4.46 per cent are bulky and overweight.

I once asked a yoga instructor at a gym in a west coast apartment complex about what happened to his students after one month of learning. "I don't care. I don't hear from them once they finish off. In fact, many drop out midway, so I collect my fees in advance. Good business," he replied blithely.

The complex was equipped with excellent indoor and outdoor facilities for exercise and sport. Yet, at any time of the day or night, both my favourite treadmills would be free. The number of visitors never exceeded five. Just before noon, three South-East Asian men would arrive, do some vigorous but brief pedalling on the exercise-bike, take a dip in the pool and then leave.

Occasionally, expatriate parents dropped in and, with a visitor's curiosity, randomly ambled around the equipment, not quite sure what to make of them.

Such is the pathetic response to these wonderfully luxurious health and recreational facilities. And when you ask them why they don't exercise, people trot out the classic excuse about busy work schedules that leave them no time or energy for a workout.

While, generally, S, M, L and XL are the indicators for size, in the US, the scale goes up to 7XL! Realising that this is a huge market, clothing companies have kick-started aggressive campaigns for fashionable attire and introduced a whole new range of casual/evening wear, lingerie, nightwear and accessories for the `fluffy' men and women.

Plus Size boutiques and online stores are rapidly expanding and names like Fat Shack, Better Half Fashions, Full Size Fashions, Plus Women, Big At Heart, 3fatchicks.com, simplylarger.com are not uncommon in the US. In fact I once caught a television commercial that went something like:

"... You are a healthy super size, not an anaemic S or M. You cannot be ignored. So, don't hide. Dress up confidently in current trends. You are substantial, so occupy your space proudly and don't crave to shrink to a size M..."

"... You are naturally big. Big is beautiful in America... "

Similar advertisements offered fabri(cated) solutions to obesity.At a party, I was introduced to a manager of a plus-size apparel company. I asked him why they encouraged obesity in the US. He replied, "It's business. We must go with the trend. Otherwise we will be bankrupt." He then smiled mischievously and whispered: "We also have another company in our group that deals with instant weight loss products."

"What?" I exclaimed stunned. "Within thirty days they can shrink to a 2X, not an M right away. You know, we back our products with a guarantee."

"Money back guarantee?"

"No, a 50 per cent discount at our plus size store. Subject to availability of stocks, of course."

That is why businessmen from all over the world, Chinese and Israelis included, rush to the US to learn marketing strategies!

(The author is a Mumbai-based freelance writer.)