The Hindu Business Line : A slim look, Oh no!

For the first time in the history of the Miss Universe competition, recently a reigning beauty queen, Oxana Fedorova, was stripped of her title, after it was reported she had gained weight and was pregnant. Though she denied this, it once again brought to the fore the pressure on young women to maintain `slim' figures, the problems they face in losing weight and keeping it off.

Dr Rani Raote, a well-known psychotherapist and columnist says the thin look is endorsed by the fashion industry, which makes clothes largely for thin or slim builds. This sends out the wrong signals to young women, particularly those suffering from low self-esteem, often because they base it on factors like appearance, money or cars. "People should not see a particular figure as the natural one. Enjoying good health is more important than being thin," she says.

With trademark fervour Sushma Reddy, Channel V DJ and a well known model, says she is all for "the natural look. I would never recommend a starvation diet to anyone seeking to lose weight. The person should, instead, become more conscious about the kind of food he or she consumes. One should go in for the more healthy options available like choosing brown rice over white, or consciously including health foods such as soya and veggies in the diet."

On the ill-effects of crash diets and food supplements, she says that they eat into muscle tissue and weaken a person. Health mixes and pills deny the body of its calcium requirement, which in later life could lead to weak bones. Work-outs and healthy food habits are the easy-to-follow reliable way to lose weight.

Sushma blames the media for the inaccurate messages being given out on the ideal sizes and weights. A size 8 or 10, will not fit an average person. "Every person has a defined body weight that he or she should maintain. The media-propagated idea of ideal weight, skin colour and beauty are frightening and harmful, and such stereotypical images are the cause of associated problems of low self-esteem among those falling short of such benchmarks," she adds.

While one should indulge one's taste buds, the sensible thing is to eat more but smaller meals. Bhel, made of puffed rice, is an ideal snack. Those craving for chocolates can break the bar into smaller pieces, so it lasts longer!

Reinforcing Sushma Reddy's views is veteran model, Nayanika Chatterjee. Aware of young girls' obsession with achieving the waif-like look, quite oblivious to the long-term effects of stringent diets and strenuous work-outs, she says, "My request to all those out there is that anything done in excess has detrimental effect, be it a diet or a strenuous work-out. Everything should be done in moderation. Deprivation can lead to binging, so be realistic and be happy."

She feels the pressure to reduce comes from within, rather than from external sources. "If you feel this pressure, it is of your own making. A reality check is important. Western body types are very different from the Indian structure, and to ape Western sizes and fits is sheer stupidity. Each body type and framework being unique, one has to work within individual parameters."

Nayanika, like Sushma, is naturally lean. She has been able to maintain her figure without having to deny herself the simple pleasure of eating what she likes or spending hours in the gym. "To tell you honestly, I do not diet or work out. Whatever I have is thanks to my genes. The only step I took when I felt really guilty about my weight was to cut down on chocolates and fried food, things that I truly love, during the major show season. And, as a habit, I never have rice and chapatis in the same meal. Psychologically, this makes me feel that I am doing something to help myself. If you have a body that is naturally skinny or can become that way by means of moderate exercise and no food deprivation, then it's okay. But subjecting yourself to strenuous workouts and starvation diets does not make sense. Personally, the overly thin look is not one that I would propagate," she adds.

Nina Manuel, another lady of the ramp, also sticks to the basics. Work-outs are in, but dieting is an absolute no, no for the feline model. A confirmed non-vegetarian, Nina makes it a point to include greens in her diet because "they are supposedly good for health," she says.

Rama Bans, a fitness consultant who has put many a Miss India through the race, holds in contempt fitness regimes that promise weight loss through diet pills or machines. She feels it is mostly the "rich and lazy" who enrol for such weight-loss programmes. Bans is a firm believer in the diet and exercise way to good health. "Eat less and eat right," she says to all those who like their samosas and jalebis. A single samosa can account for 250 calories, the same as one apple (100 cal), two cups of salad (100 cal) and a sweet lime (50 cal) . Exercise is also important.

But she thinks only the odd woman - aspiring TV or film star or beauty contestant - starves herself to acquire a model-like figure, and believes that few women seek such figures. "Learn from the child in the crib, we tend to gain weight because we become less mobile as we grow older."

Niti Desai, a consultant nutritionist with a Mumbai hospital, says that a combination of a sensible diet and exercise can bring about a positive and sustainable change in one's lifestyle. Three meals with one or two snacks thrown in between are needed to keep hunger at bay. She recommends a diet that is low in fat and high on complex carbohydrates or fibres such as wheat, juwar and bajra. On the harmful effects of crash diets, she says reducing milk and milk products denies the body of a valuable source of essential protein. Also, a no-fat diet over a long period could lead to deficiency of fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A, D and E. She is also against diets plans that avoid any one type of food like carbohydrates, with no restrictions on the intake of other food types such as proteins and those containing fats. This could lead to cardiac and other problems through increased cholesterol levels. Evidently, one has to put the battle of the bulge in perspective. As Dr Raote put it, one should ask whether `thinness' could actually be a problem. Once we find an answer to that, we could work on getting fit as opposed to getting thin.

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