HEALTH: UNHEALTHY TEENS

There is an old adage repeated in many Indian homes, especially by the older generation: health is wealth. Well, the Indian middle class has got the wealth but is fast losing its health. The middle-class in India has never had it so good. Affluence and globalization has made a given them a wider range of cuisine, not necessarily the healthiest. Yet, as is often said, there is no such thing as a free lunch, or it could be a case of too many lunches.

Paradoxically, a nation with 20 percent of the poor of the world is facing an obesity crisis. The middle class is increasingly sporting a middle spread that poses a serious health risk for millions. Obesity, till recently, was seen as a disease of developed countries. Yet, 35 percent or approximately 120 million urban Indians are seriously obese, as are one in 10 urban Indian children. Delhi is India’s obesity capital with alarming 45 percent males and 55 percent women suffering from high levels of obesity.

Obesity is more than a cosmetic concern. Being seriously overweight puts you at greater risk of developing high blood pressure, cardiac disease, diabetes, some cancers and other health risks. Ultimately, obesity can be life-threatening. In the US, more than three lakh deaths are linked to obesity annually. According to the World Health Organization, the obesity epidemic is increasing faster in developing countries than in the developed world.

The prime cause revolves around changes in lifestyles as a result of affluence and a sedentary lifestyle. Basically, we are eating too much high calorie food and not burning enough of it with exercise. It always amazes me to see how a country, used to eating fresh home cooked meals, has taken to pizza parlors and McDonald’s each year. These have aggravated the obesity problem. Longer work hours mean longer hours behind a desk. At home, it’s sitting at a computer or the TV. As lives become busier, there is less time to cook healthy meals; instead, more people are opting for high calorie, pre-cooked meals popped into the microwave.

In Indian health care circles, the battle against the bulge has begun. Last year, the first Asia Pacific Obesity Conclave took place in Delhi and health experts are gearing up to tackle obesity on a war footing. The antidote is simple: eat healthier, exercise more and change lifestyle patterns.

I think that the challenge lies in creating awareness. We all know that fat is ugly, but many people are unaware that it is dangerous as well.

Affluence may have given middle class India many gifts but they are in danger of losing the greatest gift of all: good health.

THE RAPE NIGHTMARE

I have always believed that the status of children and women is a very accurate indicator of how civilized a country is. If the children are healthy and educated, you know the country is progressive. In a place where women are not treated with equality, you know that country is bedeviled by problems.

In the past decade, one of the key features of India’s liberalizations has been the influx of women into a variety of professions and their contribution to a growing economy. However, as we read about the horrific attacks on young women in India’s two biggest cities, this seems a veneer. A teenager was raped in Mumbai by a taxi driver. Then Delhi was shaken when a young call-centre worker was picked up off the street and raped. The capital has a reputation of being dangerous but the incident in Mumbai, which often boasted of being safe for women, points to a darker trend. That women, now facing more dangers during the course of a work day, have a reason to feel unsafe in urban India. According to the latest figures, the rate of crime against women in 35 big cities is higher than the national average.

What is as disturbing as these statistics is a medieval mindset which continues to dominate our society. There is little empathy for the victims of violence, little understanding of the gravity of the problem. Even political parties like the Shiva Sena, whose basic commitment should be towards protecting women’s rights, make reactionary statements like “women invite rape by wearing provocative clothes”. Women today are no longer confined to their homes and their jobs require them to be working at odd hours. It falls on India’s civil society to safeguard women even more but we have not adjusted to this fact. The courts need to become more sympathetic towards rape victims, increase the rate of convictions and mete out justice swiftly. None of this has happened.

Indians take pride in the visible symbols of the progress of their cities-whether it is urban growth rate or the mushrooming of malls. But economic growth means little if the same cities become zones of social anxiety where half of its citizens feel unsafe.