It is all in the girth!

Going by what one reads in the ever-vigilant press, the girth-related consequences of change in the food habits of young persons in the developed world are a cause for concern for all. What rings alarm bells from the Third World’s perspective also is the realisation that ‘obesity’ is not really confined to the well-fed First World. A certain class in the Third World is also falling prey to this sorry state of affairs. If anything, could this widespread ‘pestilence’ not justifiably be put down as a logical corollary of globalisation?

Here one must pause and ponder. Is obesity a bad thing per se? The state of being ‘fat’ is certainly not of recent origin. History is replete with exploits of men (and women, no doubt) of outsized girth. Nobles over the ages, through their habit of eating rather more than their systems were in need of or their lifestyles called for, tended to develop rather generous physiques. Some such individuals used their obesity to good advantage by projecting larger than life images. Throwing their weight around literally!

History notwithstanding, obesity as a widespread phenomenon, is of fairly recent origin, though. Off and on, one reads of alarming news from the United States, for instance, of the phenomenal rise in the number of fat people in that country. In fact, obesity appears to be assuming epidemic proportions there. One alludes to the experience of the United States simply because the press there is highlighting the sorry plight of the obese. It would hardly be fair to confine this issue to that country alone, or even to the developed world. The malaise is more widespread.

While on the subject of fat individuals, one would be well advised not to generalise the matter. Fat persons fall into various categories depending on the origin of their individual history. Some are born fat; others achieve fatness; while fatness is thrust on some. Then, there are those who are fat by design. The sumo wrestlers of Japan are a case in point. They fatten themselves up in the interest of what can be called physical stability. Science teaches that the lower your centre of gravity the more stable you are. It is on this principle that the sumo wrestlers base their campaign to deliberately gain weight. Incidentally, what happens to them after they retire?

Here another question presents itself: when did this obesity ‘epidemic’ start? Some, mainly in the developed world, would date it coinciding with the advent of the ‘fast food’ revolution. The accompanying change in the dietary habits of people would appear to be the major reason behind the regrettable ‘expansion’ of the average girth of individuals. Not only did people take to eat what can only be described as junk food, they also started to eat it in quantities greater than their systems required or could assimilate.

Known fat individuals express different perspectives on the subject. George Orwell, for one, presented a succinct view of obesity: “I’m fat, but I’m thin inside,” he was fond of saying. This observation of Orwell has a much deeper significance than would appear on the surface. Has it ever struck the gentle reader that there may well be a thin man inside every fat man? Much the same as saying that there is a sculpture hidden inside every block of stone!

From a wider perspective, the aforesaid does open up an entirely new line of inquiry. For instance, there is the distinct possibility that a person can be physically fat and yet spiritually slim. Vice versa, one who is physically slim could well be fat internally. Fatness, or obesity if you will, can thus be seen as a state of mind. What is more, fatness may not be considered as synonymous with indolence. The two are distinct states with one thing in common: like fatness, indolence too is a state of mind. Everything is relative, really. Like beauty, obesity too lies in the eye of the beholder.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2018.

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