Healthy diet, exercise and a good night’s sleep is all it takes to retain a good physique, but the comforts of today have spelt doom for the modern age
Today, obesity is considered as a vital factor that has led to an overall deterioration in the strict values prescribed for a healthy demeanour.
The Indian police force is a classic example of a department that is mired with complaints of personnel wearing uniforms that could burst at the seams without any prior notice whatsoever. The tendency to bloat within years of enrollment in the force may have its own explanations, but the fact remains that a majority of our cops need to urgently prune their ‘portly’ bearing.
It is however a surprise that in spite of the strict regimen of exercises and training that ought to keep them fighting fit, many of the officers and enlisted men in the armed forces are not caricatures of the sublime conditioning that one has come to associate with the military the world over. In the current national security scenario where threat lurks around every conceivable corner, an out-of-shape soldier is always a liability!
Hence suggestions doing the round that those who are serving the nation in their capacity as law-enforcers or in the defence of the motherland against internal and external aggression be recommended for sequestration for ‘lugging’ around their salubrious figures cannot be summarily dismissed either!
But the biggest let down has come from the field of sports where, against all adversities, only a firm belief in oneself and the inclination to maintain supreme fitness has helped carve out success sagas for renowned players and athletes.
Yet, a few months into their retirement from the sports, stars are known to sport an ‘ungainly demeanour’ which demeans their exploits on the playing fields.
A sportsperson, professional or amateur, has a playing span of say about 15-20 years at the top, provided there is no sign of an early burnout succumbing to the pressures of a highly competitive itinerary.
With nary a trace of fat marring the athletic posture which would otherwise be a blot on the dedication to the sport, years of rigorous training and practice tones the athlete’s muscles to perfection.
However, with irregular exercises and passing of age, the image of an Adonis that was so religiously cultivated tends to take a beating.
Keeping one’s weight in check should become obligatory not only for all career options but also for that general feeling of well-being which makes people walk with a spring in their step.
Researchers are of the opinion that a combination of excessive calorie intake complimented by an equally sedentary lifestyle is the main cause of obesity.
When one equates desk-bound routine with an inactive way of life, it is usually with reference to people slogging out a nine-to-six schedule in the confines of their climate-conditioned cubicles that they have come to recognize as their workplace, complete with artificial lights and computer consoles. A physical absurdity that doctors have always been warning their patients against, the growing waistline is an ominous indication of a host of ailments.
People who are obese are at a greater risk for knee problems. It is claimed that for every kilogram one is overweight, the knee must absorb an extra four kilos of pressure when one walks, runs or climb stairs.
Although an individual clinical condition, it is viewed as a serious and growing public health problem. Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve stored in the fatty tissue of humans exceeds healthy limits.
With cosmetology having evolved in leaps and bounds over the years, it is a surprise that the beauty industry has not though much about ‘tucking-in tummies’ as an aspect of the body-beautiful concept to help people get rid of the extra fat around their belly.
Bariatric surgery may be touted as an effective way to treat obesity, but it does come with its own share of risks for the patient. Not that this has kept away overweight people from opting for various medical procedures that help them get rid of their physical ‘incongruities’.
Business entrepreneurs too have been quick to cash-in on the mad rush to find alternatives to counter the exasperating complaints of the ever-protruding tummy. For example, the ‘slim sweat-belts’!
Extensively marketed through advertisement campaigns in various TV channels it is believed to act as an effective waist trimmer. With many in the know-how of the mechanics of weight-loss however expressing apprehensions over the use of the abdominal sweatbands, the need to tread cautiously is more obvious now than ever.
Our elders have always been of the opinion that a healthy diet, enough exercise and a good night’s sleep is all that it takes to retain a good physique and to maintain that radiant glow on one’s face.
But the comforts of the modern luxuries that has mechanical appliances substituting human efforts at managing most of the day-to-day affairs has spelt doom for the modern age.
