The Reluctant Size Zero

When my sister Anandita was in her teens, every day for about a year, she would get a phone call from my aunt after every meal, demanding an account of what she had eaten.

Each call would involve long discussions on whether Anandita had stuck to her specially-prepared diet chart; whether she had taken her three carbohydrate-and-protein-rich meals interspersed with fruit breaks; whether she had had two glasses of milk and such.

My family’s aim was to fatten up my underweight sister who, at 18 and 5’5” in height, weighed a little over 40kg. Now, at 31, she’s at 45.5kg. She’s been trying to pack on the pounds for the last two decades. She’s seen over 20 doctors, and had tests and x-rays every month since she was 15. “All those tests and diet charts made me believe I was sick, when I wasn’t,” Anandita says now.

With everything around us — films, TV, pop culture — geared towards making people lose weight, the opposite is not seen as a problem. Yet it is. According to fitness and lifestyle consultant Mehernaaz Damania, “People trying to gain weight may be fewer in number, but they are just as obsessive and desperate as overweight people.”

And it’s equally frustrating when that doesn’t happen. Actor Makrand Deshpande has been trying to muscle up for the last 10 years, but his weight has been holding steady at 62kg.

“I was a skinny but athletic kid,” says Deshpande, 42. “Now I’m just skinny. Trying to put the kilos back on has been a real challenge, because I can’t seem to make anything stick.”

A 2004 report from the US, a country that has been battling obesity, found skinniness to be a problem in about two per cent of the population. In India, healthcare experts say the numbers are likely to be higher, though there are no studies to corroborate this.

Fitness guru Leena Mogre says one out of 10 people who come to her want to put on weight. So much so, that she had to devise a weight-gain regimen for such people.

The thin body type is defined as an ectomorph, and there are many reasons ectomorphs find it hard to put on weight. “It could be hereditary,” says clinical nutritionist Nupur Krishnan. “Or they might have a high basal metabolic rate (BMR), which means their bodies are able to break down and process food faster, leaving no excess fat.”

Nutritionist Hira Mahajan adds: “Sometimes stress leads to a lack of appetite, so they need to relax their minds and enjoy their meals.” The 2004 report also cites recovery from eating disorders like anorexia (inability to eat for fear of putting on weight) or bulimia (bingeing on food and throwing it up), or side-effects of ailments like cancer or AIDS, as possible causes.

Being skinny can be just as distressing as being fat, or even more so. Both are objects of scorn, but in the case of skinny people, their problem is never seen as ‘real’.

Engineering student Rucha Sawant, 22, who at 5’6” is thin as a rail, is the constant butt of jokes among friends. “When I tell them I’m trying to put on weight, they laugh at me, and are envious that I can wear just about any clothes,” says Sawant. “They don’t know how bad I feel when I try on a dress or a gown, and it just hangs off me.”

Mathematics professor Jayesh Kumar has a shopping problem, too. At 29, he is 5’8” tall but weighs 46kg. “Standard-size jeans and dockers don’t fit,” says Kumar. “Only one brand of chinos works, so I buy six at a time.” Kumar has been refused two or three marriage proposals on account of being thin. “I was told the girl looked ‘much healthier’ and that ‘the pair would not look appropriate’,” he says.

Desperation sometimes leads to extreme measures. Two years ago, when Kumar hit the gym to bulk up, trainers made him lift such heavy weights (in the hope of quick results) that he permanently damaged his knee.

A 20-year-old student says his parents tried everything — ayurvedic tonics to increase appetite, junk food — and even encourage him to drink beer often. He is now considering steroids.

Trainer Ivan Fernandes says some people opt for weight-gaining powders, protein pills and shakes, and supplements like Creatine, a volumiser. “But some of these, like Creatine, can be harmful in the long run,” he adds.

Rucha Sawant’s mother is happy to feed her ghee-laden food six times a day. “Parents think rich and fatty foods are the answer,” says Mogre. “They don’t see that later these will create diabetes, cholesterol and cardiac problems in their children.”

But now that lean is in, some parents are beginning to realise that skinny is not necessarily unhealthy, says Damania. And that perhaps it’s best to make peace with one’s genetically-predetermined body type.

After a recent check-up, my sister discovered that contrary to fears of being sickly, she is actually healthier than she thought. “My haemoglobin count is higher than most women’s,” she says. “I think it’s great to be thin, actually. I can snack all I want, and still get into the jeans I bought 10 years ago. How many people can do that?”