The Tossed Salad

It’s the era of extremes, for both guys and gals. The choosy ones starving for the size zero and fat free abs, and the rest binging away to glory. But in this process we are living behind the something that’s called a “healthy diet”.

The size zero myth has become the ideal status symbol, fuelled by a world in which skinny celebrities and models fit right in; where coffee and cigarettes replace food and you can order a plate of “skinny” sushi – sans rice. But striving for the ultimate dress size is not without its risks. In the process to achieve the right lean young females adapt unhealthy ways of dieting, which doesn’t include the right proteins and vitamins required for the body. Size Zero is a women’s clothing size in the US system equivalent to a UK size 4, with a waist measurement of a tiny 23 inches, the average girth of an 8 year old girl. Experts say that being this thin can lead to loss of periods, hair falling out, dry skin and even thinning bones.

The inches a right size zero needs to have bust: 31”-32”, waist: 23”-24” and hips: 33”-34”.

But besides this chase for the lean look, there is also a community of youngsters who’s ready to stuff in whatever they get. In fact has anyone ever thought why we eat? Different reasons for different people. We eat for fun, pleasure, and of the most common reason, to kill boredom. The real purpose for eating i.e. to get energy to work and settle down our hunger is left far behind in fact its vanished.

Lifestyle has changed so much over the years that we believe in the “eating on the run” concept, which means may be munching a biscuit pack for breakfast while rushing to the college/school, or an unhealthy fatty burger for lunch while working on a project, or just hogging on KFC or Mc’Donalds for dinner with friends!

Life has become so fast that we prefer surviving on fast foods. Research shows that 55%-75% live on the fast food, meaning that out of 3 meals a day a normal youngster has 2 meals which consist of fast food. Fast food which is easily available and easy on pocket has health complications like lack of energy, poor concentration, heart diseases, liver failure and diabetes.

Besides this not only teenagers but the middle-aged group of working class is also largely dependent on junk and easily available fast food and colas. Even consumption of coffee, tea and smoke has increased with the growing progress in the society, the run for money/status and the working pattern of the people.

But the largest victim of the terror of junk food is the student community. There are various techniques and ways the teenagers and the youth try to tackle and run away from healthy home made food like:

* skipping meals: a common pattern of consumption
* snacking: a survival technique for teens
* fast foods: a staple for teen’s diet
* dieting: the evil opposite of healthy living

Well, I don’t mean that junk and fast foods should be banned or something because even I being the part of the same student community survive on it, but it can be reduced surely. Instead of munching a biscuit packet we can surely have an apple for breakfast, whereas while chomping a burger we can have a healthy salad and juice or even our traditional Indian roll (chapati and vegetable), and instead of KFC we can have homemade food. We need not follow this everyday but at least a few days in a week can definitely make a change.

Zeeba Baig, Intern

[ratings]

[image courtesy: http://flic.kr/p/Rq8q]

Author: Zeeba Baig
Web: