Dying To Be Thin A study of Kota City Adolescent girls (age between 16 to 25)

Adolescence is up to the brim with vibrancy and is full of innovation, drive and ideas. It is a positive force for a nation and is responsible for its productivity, provided it is groomed in a healthy manner. Being a South East Asian nation and a former colony of British, India has revelled in the influence of western culture and thereby looking good and presentable holds the key to a bright future.

Indian food, over the years has been much celebrated across the world for its excessive use of oils and spices which add to the taste but have a flip side too. It has led to children gaining weight and getting obese. Obesity has its own repercussions, as it is now a major reason behind several cardiovascular diseases.

Being a youth exacts a heavy price. Youth symbolizes good looks, a trim physique, an adorable figure which may lead them to take steps on their own without an expert consultant guiding them to do so. Reports indicate that girls across the urban span are employing excessive measures to cut down their weights in order to be more acceptable amongst the peers. Cutting down on significant nutritional values is today one of the major causes of Anorexia, all the more because it's a random decision and lacks parental consent. Though it's vehemently opposed by medical experts and physicians but is trending at a rapid pace.

We had a random survey of 1050 adolescent girls chosen from a cross section of hostels in Kota where almost all girls belonged to a middle income group and were attending various Coaching Institutes of Kota. As per the standard BMI, some were underweight, a few were normal, some were overweight and the remaining were downright obese. The girls found to be obese had a low sense of self esteem when they were asked questions related to their looks. A few amongst them were found to be engaged in either a medical treatment to cure them of their problem or involved in heavy physical activity so as to shed those extra kilos. Even amongst the overweight ones, some were found to be very much aware of their undue extra mass and were involved in some or other physical exhausting activity and were even found to be trying many home made and easily available cures to go thin.

Media and its promotional campaigns have also contributed significantly in spanning a whole generation of Anorexics across the length and breadth of the nation. Youngsters are dying to be thin. It might be an impending disaster with unproductive and unfit youth contributing nothing to the nation.