Limelight Dying to be thin By Lubna Abdel-Aziz The dog days of summer are upon us. The sweltering heat has already ushered in the season, and it is time for shedding our garments and gnashing our teeth. We view with dismay the bulges, pouches and rolls that have slowly been creeping upon us, concealed under our winter garments, like a thief in the night. Before rushing to the seashore for rest and recreation, we must lose those unsightly extra kilogrammes. We are read to do anything and everything to be thin. Why is thin in? When did it happen? The last time we looked into an art gallery, museum, or art book, the women were curvaceous and voluptuous. Now, the world's most beautiful people, society ladies, fashion models, movie stars and TV personalities have their fashionable thin images plastered all over the media. The diet industry alone generates up to $44 billion in annual revenues, from diet foods, diet programmes and diet drugs, and is still growing. Being thin was not always viewed as being desirable. Once upon a time, long, long ago, thin women were considered poor and sickly, unsuitable for nurturing a large family. What exactly happened to change our view of beauty? After running around naked for centuries humans discovered yarn from plants, invented the needle and started to cover themselves from head to toe. Modesty was the dictum then. Today women wear less clothes than in any other period since ancient times. The roaring 20s came roaring in, making clothes lighter, simpler and more comfortable. After WWII, the maxi was followed by the mini and then the micro-mini. The trend for less clothes was followed by the trend for less fat. The bathing suit undoubtedly played a role in determining the ideal body shape and contours. The daring one piece suit was followed by the 'bikini', introduced by French designer Louis Reard, 1946, named after a group of islands in the pacific: the Bikini Atoll. The bikinis are decidedly tame compared to today's bathing suits. The era of the 50s was curvaceous Marilyn Monroe's decade, but by today's standards she would be considered heavy; all because of one Leslie Hornby. Her influence has been drastic and detrimental to women's health. The tall, lean, English fashion model of the 60s became a trendsetter and every girl wanted to look like her. She was 172 centimetres tall and weighed 40 kilogrammes. They called her "Twiggy". The fashion industry was mesmerised by her measurements and never looked back. Now it idealises extreme slenderness, encouraging real women to hate their bodies and strive for the "Twiggy look". Thinness became the most alarming and deadliest of obsessions. Some drugs like "Fen Phen" (Fenfluramine & Dexfenfluramine) have been removed from the market after causing numerous deaths and debilitating side effects. Even herbal pills such as "Ma Huang" have resulted in deaths. The most dangerous trend, especially among teenagers has been the eating disorders Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia, as well as compulsive eating followed by starvation. Karen Carpenter, the famous singer of the musical duo The Carpenters, died at the peak of her career from complications caused by anorexia. She was 31 and weighed 38 kilograms at her death. "The quest for beauty becomes a sort of enslavement" writes Naomi Wolf in her famous book The Beauty Myth, where she shows how society's definitions and images of beauty are used against the young. The serious side effects of those eating disorders include weakened hearts, osteoporosis, stomach and intestinal malfunctions, destruction of teeth and throat and infertility. Anorexia Nervosa involves starvation. Bulimia is 'bingeing and purging', or the use of laxatives, diuretics, vigorous exercises and even fasting. In other words rapid food consumption followed by extreme expulsion. Anorexia and bulimia are diseases exclusive to wealthy families. Eight million Americans, mostly women, suffer from eating disorders and 150,000 women die each year of their complications. Dozens upon dozens of celebrities, models, actors, princesses, ballerinas, singers, gymnasts and millions upon millions of non-celebrities suffer from these disorders. The late Princess Diane admitted to have struggled with bulimia for years and so did Sarah Ferguson. The list of celebrities is too long and shocking, including Nancy Reagan, Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, the late Audrey Hepburn, the late Alfred Hitchcock, Melanie Griffith, Nadia Comaneci, Kathy Rigby and Elton John. Designer Calvin Klein promoted the "gaunt and emaciated look" of model Kate Moss. One of four college women has an eating disorder. In Britain more than 50 per cent of 12-15 year-- old girls admitted that their appearance was the biggest concern of their lives and diet centres have received calls from mothers of children as young as five. In a recent US survey, 50 per cent of nine year-olds and 80 per cent of 10-year-olds have dieted. The number of male victims has grown steadily, now reaching 10 per cent of the total number of eating disorder victims. So you think a crash diet will get rid of your extra kilogrammes in time for your beach parties? The weight you losewill quickly reverse itself. Any of the 500 or so diets will help you lose the weight, but 95 per cent of those who diet will regain the weight and then some. In the Handbook for Psychotherapy for Anorexia and Bulimia, Garner and Garfinkel explain that "weight loss is accompanied by hypometabolism. In other words, a body deprived of caloric intake takes whatever it gets and makes it last a really long time by slowing down its metabolism". Cynthia Johnson, director of Britain's Eating Disorder Research Centre clarifies: "The body takes the calories and makes them last longer." With society sending us the message that the perfect body is the key to all the good things in life, glamour, romance, wealth and happiness, we are sent off on an unfair and unrealistic pursuit of the mythical perfect body. We must remember that the fashion models we see are indeed fashioned. During the photo shoots they duct and tape parts of their anatomy, pin their dresses to look perfect, smear wrinkles, erase zits and digital companies manipulate the pictures in countless ways. Moreover kilogrammes to the actors and ballerinas need to be light on their toes. There is some good news. A few extra pounds in later life are not as risky and may actually protect you. So if you are over 50 with only a few kilogrammes over, hang on to them. Of course, if you suffer from obesity, this has its own hazards. With age, you consume fewer calories, and still gain more weight. Why? Your muscle mass decreases, your activity goes down and your energy requirements are less. Lessened energy should be matched by a parallel decline in food consumption, otherwise your body fat increases. Fat people, like it or not, eat much more than they burn. The very latest advice from scientists is (1) increase activity and (2) decrease calorie consumption and make every calorie count. Eat a balanced diet of protein, carbohydrate and fat including lots of vegetables (broccoli), fruits (apples and strawberries) and grains. Stop dieting. The body's internal activities needs a certain amount of calories for healthy survival, the beating of the heart, respiration, digestion, metabolism, etc. Avoid crash diets. Reduce safely; some of the body fat will be called upon to supply the deficiency. Do not go below 1,200 calories a day and use them judiciously. Do not squander them on unnecessary junk food with little or no nutritional value. As for looking good on the beach this summer, if you are not in shape already, do not force it. Start living a healthy and involved, active life and you will feel thin from within. If the "mirror, mirror, on the wall" tells you "you are not the fairest of them all" -- ignore it. Nobody's perfect, and of course there is always next summer. After all today is the first day of the rest of your life.
