Hello friends,
’ll let you into a little secret today. Yes, it is about Panditji, and his Achilles heel. Well, tooth…to be precise. In fact, it is an overly, almost sickeningly sweet one. Now you know why he has never been able ‘overcome’ his oversized belly, armed though he is with all the food fundas of the world. He is not proud of his crazy longing for all things sugary, and does not like to talk about it. But today he is in a mood to make some candid confessions, he says.
Panditjispeak:Being fat is a disease. It can spread and I am almost certain that it is contagious. You think I have lost my mind? Then consider this: Don’t you and your friends pick up tips from one another on which brand of carbonated drink is ‘delightfully frothy’ and what ‘just doesn’t tickle the taste buds’? Don’t you swap ideas on beverages to be stocked if you are planning a party? There you go. You are influencing the eating (in this case, drinking) habits. And an obese generation is born.
Look at me. I was a child when the mother brand of all fizzy sodas, came to India. I still remember the first time I drank a bottle of cola. It was a gift from my father. No, a reward really — for doing well in school. I felt so stylish taking that first sip, that I kept drinking a bottle every other day. No one told my dad or me that it came, along with a host of harsh chemicals, an overdose of sugar. Result? I was a fat child and grew up to be an obese adult. I struggle constantly to keep my weight down and will always run a high risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Wondering what triggered these reminiscences? Well, I read that in the U.S. (undoubtedly the Land of Origin of the Obese!) there has been a 43 per cent drop in the obesity rate among two to five year-old children over the past decade. Experts say it has happened because now the children drink less of sugary beverages and more of water and fruits. The credit for this goes to the government-run Special Supplemental Nutrition Programme for Women, Infant and Children which has cut down funds for packaged juices and other drinks and raised money for fruits and vegetables.
No one had warned me to keep my hands off the cola bottle. Well, I am warning you, and I do hope you are listening.
Panditji
The writer is editor Gobar Times
