"Obesity - The Biggest Adversity!"

Mama : "Pinky ! Don't eat so many samosas. I am telling you. One day you will become round like the potato stuffed in it."

"No Mom. Thish is so tashty!"  Pinky replied her mouth stuffed fully.

Pinky is Vikram and Sweta's 8 year old daughter who is pampered a lot. She is cute and pink like a barbie doll. She was named Pinky when her elder brother all of a sudden started calling her Pinky due to her pinkish complexion and charming features. She enjoyed the privilege of being the little sister in the family and she was treated like a princess when she went to her grandparent's place in summer holidays.

Pinky's mother always tried to restrict her food habits but Pinky paid deaf ear. Food was some thing to which she was deeply connected to. It was her first and last love. She even ignored friends when it comes to food. When every one is playing hide and seek she finished a packet of hide and seek biscuits. When every one busily practiced dance for the annual function Pinky relished her sweet paapads , ice creams and toffees sold outside the school gate. Pinky's dad immensely loved her and named her after her grandmom Padma. Where ever she went Padma aka Pinky was every one's favorite.  

"Oh! Pinky is such a golu polu kid." Namrata aunty used to exclaim during the birthday parties and community get togethers.

When they went to grandmom's village for summer holidays it was an every day feast for nearly two months. Pinky's grandmother made all her favorite cuisines from laddoos to Puris to chicken biryani. It used to always look like a wedding or some other grand party till Pinky left.

Pinky's mom used to warn her mother : "Maa ! Please don't spoil Pinky. Her food habits are horrible already!"

"Arey. She is just a kid. When she gets old she anyway cannot eat all this stuff :(", Pinky's mom used to criib.

After a getting pampered for 10 years Pinky finally entered her graduation. Her college is popular in the city and looking at the girls there she started feeling odd. Every one is diet conscious. Almost every one worked out. She slowly became under confident which even effected her performance in the class. One not so fine day she broke in to a fresh stream of tears at home. .

She sobbed saying, "Mom. I don't want to go to college. Every one things I am ugly!"

Mom : " No beta! Why are you talking like that ? What happened?"

Pinky: " I don't know mom. I just can't go there. I don't fit in my old dresses. I don't fit in any happening group in college."

Pinky's mom consoled her saying, " Don't worry. Follow my words at least nowand in no time you will lose weight and feel good. Are you ready to do whatever I tell you to?"

 "Yes mom,"  replied pinky sniffing.

Finally Pinky started working out and her diet chart was made by her mom. She avoided all the oily foods, junk food and any thing which would halt the weight loss. With in a month she lost 2kg. She was very happy but she did not forget her goal and worked towards it. In an year she transformed so much that people started recognizing her efforts and appreciating her looks. The old golu molu Pinky vanished in to thin air. Actually almost half of the Pinky vanished in to thin air leaving a slimmer , prettier and a more confident Pinky.

Now Pinky participates in dance competitions and also plays badminton!

Pinky and her mom. Cartoon made with the help of toondoo.com

I feel lucky as I didn't know what noodles were when I was a kid and we never had a habit at home to have chips or coke or pizzas frequently. In the fast paced life fast food seems like a savior but in the long run it only saves and preserves the extra calories. So it is my humble request to all the parents to not treat their kids with frequent calorific foods. Instead cook some thing interesting at home. Make a fruit salad, a brown bread sandwich or any thing which is less greasier and more healthier. Before implementing this please inculcate the habits in your daily routine. Kids listen to you when you yourself do what you say :)I know many such Pinkys in my life who are pampered a lot. Recently I have been to a relative's house where a 6 year old boy who is at the verge of obesity was about to finish a full packet of chips. Immediately after that he bugged his mom for coke. He had french fries and two egg puffs. I was shocked to see that mom was oblivious to his pot belly and all the adipose layers he was putting on as easily as someone puts on a sweater in winter. Now he will be pampered and every one will love pulling his cheeks and exclaiming that he is the cutest thing on earth but after few years when the after effects will be unleashed it will be too hard to lose all the weight which he took years to put on! It will take a day to put on a kilo but a month or two to lose it. So just imagine how much time you need to shed those extra 10 kilos or may be 20?

Pampering once in a while is fine but it definitely should not become a habit. Other wise every one has to suffer one day like Pinky!

Every one knows how to google the benefits of exercise but it is a big deal to work out on a daily basis. You need to have a great amount of zeal to do so. I will just brief the benefits of exercise below!

• Daily regime of exercise makes you feel good. The feel good endorphins are released when you exercise. Of course sex and even hot peppers release endorphins but that is just not enough  to lose weight:)

•  Endorphins are neurotransmitters, chemicals that pass along signals from one neuron to the next. Neurotransmitters play a key role in the function of the central nervous system and can either prompt or suppress the further signaling of nearby neurons. (source : google). Endorphins give you the kick which a drug like opium or morphine also cannot give. Isn't it a good kick ? ;)

• Exercise keeps you fit and fine and healthy. You all know that for a person who works out there is a low risk of heart diseases, brain diseases and in short you can develop immunity and fight any disease!

• Exercise even helps in preventing cancer. CANCER is the biggest enemy of India now - a - days.

• Arthritis and Osteoporosis - two more enemies of India can also be shooed away with a proper pattern of exercise!

• It improves your sexual life and helps you stay stress free! It is the best stress buster. It can be a 30 min walk , gym , aerobics , pilates , yoga what ever suits you. Important thing is you should enjoy what you do and do it in combinations. Otherwise your body will not respond to a routine pattern after few months.

• Exercise also clears your skin and keeps pimples and blemishes away. The sweat glands and sebaceous glands (oil glands) do their work. The glow is better than any facial :)

• Last but not the least before you realize your weight will drop. It will not happen over night for sure. You need to be realllllllly patient for this! 

I saw something shared on facebook recently. It was an ad outside a gym which said - "You want to be a whale or mermaid this summer ?:)" - Think ! Some ads just hit where it hurts. People are going gaga over maintaining a perfect figure but going overboard is dangerous. The gym personnel always feel what you do is insufficient or you have flab here or there. Do what all you can and don't over do it and go to extremes till you fall sick. 

Some one replied that mermaids don't exist and even if they do they are always confused and live in pain thinking whether they are humans or fishes. On the other hand whales are smart and happy! Its true but my honest opinion is even if whale is smarter and happier than mermaid one need not be in the size of a whale.:) 
You need not become a set of bones but you should know what will make you feel good and what will improve your health. No need of doing it for others. Do for yourself and see the difference!

So what are you waiting for. Get up and get going. Care about yourself. Don't be a couch potato. Don't ignore the early warning signs and avoid obesity which is the biggest adversity!

This post is written for the contest  "The Moral of The Story Is...!"  by indiblogger.in where you have to write a moral story about ignoring warning signals .

Do visit this link - "myhealthyspeak.co.in"when you are here.