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With waif like models being pulled off international catwalks, Indian teenagers too need to do a rethink, says Nona Walia
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
TODAY'S teenager has a new religion – being super thin. In fact, they weigh much less than what they weighed ten years ago.
Recently, models with a Body Mass Index (BMI) lower than 18 were not allowed to participate in the Madrid and London Fashion Weeks as they were considered unhealthy role models. Not surprising, as studies reveal that while 25 years ago, the average model weighed eight per cent less than the average American woman, today's model weighs 23 per cent below the national average. This trend is true in India too, according to dietician Shikha Sharma, "The average weight of a teenage girl is much less than what it used to ten years ago. Today's teenage girls are much thinner. This is a cause of huge concern. You'd be surprised what girls are eating to be ultra-thin. They survive on one toast the whole day. They've started taking laxatives to be thin. In fact, I have many 19-year-olds coming to me and complaining that they are fat – this when they weigh all of 45 kg! They don't want to exercise, they only want to either starve or eat junk."
Blame it on the slew of new goddesses – the list includes Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham. Two rail thin women who now epitomise global thinness. Just as they appear to shun extra flesh on their bones, the average Indian teen abhors every extra inch or flab. Being thin is their new obsession, and one that has experts and nutritionists worried.
Says Vandana Luthra, who initiated the 'fit and thin' revolution, "Girls five years ago used to be healthier and fatter. There's an unhealthy obsession to be thin. Young girls are competing with each other to be the thinnest one. Today's teen has redefined thinness. Even thin girls are unhappy with their body. They want to look like supermodels. But it's unhealthy – these girls are starving themselves. Plus they are gorging on junk food, which doesn't give them the required energy or glow. As a result, they all look sickly. These girls are also undernourished and dehydrated as most of them don't even drink water!"
The urban Indian teen is now perpetually starved, all in the quest of attaining that seemingly invisible level of thinness. In fact, this also is a global phenomenon – The Guardian reports how the mantra today is that being thin gets you noticed. It gets you a contract as a TV presenter or a model or a singer in a girl band. Thin fast-tracks you with far more alacrity than a degree in history. Clearly, thin and skinny sell like nothing else.
Says Dr Shobha Kaul, of Personal Point, Delhi, "The glamour world has new standards of thinness. Recently, a 28-year-old mother of two came to me as she desperately wanted to weigh just 45 kg. She told me that she'd do anything to become a model. Such is the desperation to look ultra-thin."
In fact, Marcia Cross, who plays Bree in Desperate Housewives, recently admitted that staying thin was "a living hell", and that she felt she had been banned from eating since joining the show. As you flip through glossy pages of a fashion magazine or feast on FTV, being ultra-thin is the message that'll be pounded into your head. Fashion magazines like Vogue also feature ultra-thin models. In fact, Vogue's editor, Alexandra Shulman, in an interview with The Guardian, says, "We are not saying you have to be like this."
Right. However, do designers endorse the ultra-thin look? "No," says designer Puja Nayyar, "I don't think hyper thin models look good. I prefer models with a more sculpted and toned body. Sapna Kumar is quite thin, but she has a sculpted body. Meanwhile, Neha Kapur who is ultra-thin, fortunately doesn't look pale. But many of my clients, like young brides, are getting thinner than what the average bride was even five years ago. Yes, there's a new thinness revolution in India and no, it's not necessarily a healthy one."
1)So is thin really "In"....🤔
2)Do the filmstars and models set a bad example to the youth..🤔
3)Why is so much importance being given to the "Thinness" ...🤔
4)So is looking anorexic( a la Kate Moss) more important than looking "toned"(a la Bipasha)
Your views😊
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