Weight is a very sensitive topic, capable of driving us nuts. Say for instance, at a gathering if we met someone after a very long time, how does it feel when someone right at the onset says,
“You have lost more weight!”
“Oh, you have put on so much weight,” with a bit of sadistic pleasure that may have detrimental consequences for those dealing with excess or under body weight for any of the multiple causative factors. Nothing could be more insensitive.
A natural corollary to the above not-so-desired statements is either overeating the wrong foods to gain weight or going on crash diets that one must have recently learned from the internet or from a friend/neighbour that will deliver the best results in the quickest time possible (but will be a disaster in the long run, speaking metabolically). We crave shortcuts, not hard work and somewhere our society is responsible for that. Targets become relevant and not the means through which we attain them. The weighing scale becomes dearer than anything else in the world, often predisposing to orthorexia nervosa (to learn more about the disorder, read my old blog post here https://nafldnutrition.in/drawing-a-line-to-not-turn-healthy-eating-into-an-obsession/).
But some understand that they might need professional help for this ‘weight,’ and end up stating their greatest desire,
“I need to gain weight.”
“I want to lose weight by this much…”
These are some of the most common stances when clients reach out for consultation. Surprisingly, they also have a tentative target set, which is based more on assumptions rather than facts, that would give them that great physique in their imagination.
Even if they take the body mass index (BMI) into account, time and again, my emphasis remains on the waist circumference because we are the thin fat Indians, vulnerable to inviting chronic ailments even at a lower BMI value because we have more fat mass.
In this bid to lose or gain weight, somewhere the holistic idea of health is losing out. Seldom have I heard anyone say,
“I want to work towards good or better health.”
Undoubtedly, healthy body weight is a must, but let us not forget it is not the sole indicator that defines overall well-being. If that were the case, imagine, if in the definition of health, we replace with weight, this is how it would be,
“Weight is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not just the absence of disease or infirmity.”
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?
Health is hard work in all spheres, and there are simply no shortcuts to it. Let’s work towards good health and stop looking at it from the myopic, weight-only perspective. Social support is an integral element in that, the one that probes the why and provides solutions and not just snide remarks aimed at the body weight.
Disclaimer: The information shared in the blog is aimed at increasing your awareness and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
To consult Dr. Roy for a personalized nutrition plan or guest columns, register here or call/text her at +91-6351135068 or write to her at info@nafldnutrition.in
