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ShareLast week my four-year-old nephew figured that his much-loved cheese is fattening, so he must stay away. Of course, he changed his mind the next day but I've been running scared since. Not because a kid with no idea about lipid protein is worried about extra flab but it just struck me that 'weight watch' may turn out to be the defining term of 'my times'.
Imagine telling your grandchildren that while the '70s had Vietnam and Woodstock, we had 'weight watch'. No matter where you are and who you are in conversation with -- the topic of choice is always 'weight' -- how to lose it; how to gain it and, then, lose some; who lost it and whose aunt didn't; who has been trying to lose it; how long did someone take to lose it; who has the best 'loss' programme; why didn't I lose it and the worse of all, why don't I get jaundice so that I can lose it?
In fact, it is no longer possible to go through a day without a weight-related conversation. In the good old days (the pre-weight watch era) polite conversation meant a chat about the weather, your family, my job, TV, films and so on. But these days, we must begin all chats with: Oooohhh! You've lost so much weight? This must be followed with: How do I lose this extra flab on my little left toe? So, I am pushing it with 'the little left toe' bit but the way the weight watchers are going it won't be long before every toe and finger is tortured into shape.
As it happens, I am not one of those who, needs to worry thanks to the brilliant genetic mix my parents cooked up. But the missing 'flab' has definitely kept me out of the fat race. I fail miserably at gym talk. Not because I cannot rattle off the names of the best gyms in town but because I have no membership to any of these exalted clubs. This makes me inept at commenting on the number of hours that 'must' be spent on the treadmill or ways to spot 'the best' personal trainer.
My vocabulary too has taken a beating. I have never used the word transfat in any conversation. Nor do I understand the subtle differences between the Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet. Avoiding a food group hasn't even crossed my mind. And I have never cross-checked with any friend about a salad diet.
To my skinny ears it is all about 'denial'. To everyone else it is about lacking perspective on a rising 'weighty' issue. Am sure I am not winning this debate anytime soon.
