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Is the city making me fat?

Is it urban lifestyle that's making kids and adults accumulate adipose?

HEALTH TAKES A BEATING What with a sedentary lifestyle and countless eating out options

"My day begins and ends with the rise and fall of the elevator," said techie Ashwin Ramaswamy, who's engaged in the battle of the bulge. "I take the elevator to the basement car park and drive to my workplace. Through the day, I take the elevator, even up two floors, and watch people from the ground floor hit the first floor button. Office is no less injurious — the coffee machine with its syrupy liquid, chocolate cookies at meetings, the greasy mess in the office canteen... and yes, the new Café counter with its smattering of pastries and croissants! Most workdays stretch into the night (so much for a walk with wife), so enter Pizza Man with the office-sponsored mini-orgy and typically takes extra orders! Back home, up the elevator to meet the twin devils — television and Internet. My back sprouts Velcro to glue itself to the sofa, till my mind numbs itself sufficiently to sleep. The next morning, I magically convince myself that "breakfast should be the heaviest meal" and polish off dosas and drink fine coffee. Descend to the basement, snuck into the car for office... where my elevator awaits me."

Heavy feeling

Your clothes seem to burst at the wrong places and the bathroom scales show alarming numbers. The heavy feeling isn't entirely due to the extra gadgets you carry on you. The last time you had to climb a couple of steps, you heard a wheeze, too close. And the city, whose carbon-dioxide-cum- silicon air you breathe, is to blame. It conspires to keep you fat. Ask the experts that crowd the metropolis.

The scheming city targets you as a kid. " Almost 60 per cent of the kids who come to me are obese," said leading paediatrician Dr. Priya Chandrasekar. "Strapped for time, parents fill kids' lunch boxes with unhealthy snacks bought easily off the shelf. Apartment buildings leave no space for play. The time after homework goes into computer games and cartoon network. Parents feel it's below their dignity to let kids walk to school. Isn't it thrilling that kids now order pizza and aerated drinks on the phone? The media promotes cheese and chubby-looking kids. Parents demand prescriptions for instant cure even when kids have viral fevers. Kids cannot miss school. Put it all together, you have early obesity that leads to higher cholesterol levels in adults."

Calling cities "sweet", Prof. Sundaresan Guruji of Pathanjali Yoga Foundation said, "Look at all those shops selling sweets! As children, we cleaned puja vessels, fetched water and swept floors. Exercise was built into daily life. Women now buy ready-made batter for breakfast, lead a "fast-food" life and watch TV all evening. Among those who come here, 30 per cent are overweight and 30 per cent, obese. Diet control is difficult in this city."

Time for a walk

So is walking. "Every time a flyover goes up, footpaths disappear," said ecologist Dr. Sultan Ismail. "Why do we vroom on our two-wheelers for local shopping?"

He blames obesity on the cereal/serial culture of the city. "Readily available food like cup noodles has excessive salt. Every 300 ml of the bottomless drink you get with pizza has 200-250 calories. And our curriculum encourages rote learning, not field trips.

Pressure to perform keeps high-schoolers away from playgrounds and PT classes. All these are imprints to go into adulthood with habits that lead to obesity, late treatment and expensive side-effects."

Dr. Priya Subramaniam, dentist, wonders why there isn't a park for every block of flats. "You have to drive to places to walk. Take-home food is now come-home dinner. The only body parts that look sleek are the fingers that press buttons."

Homo erectus has evolved into homo programmus. All he needs is standing space and a mobile phone. A weapon that e-mails, gets news and helps with computing. He plays games sitting right there and votes with his thumb on various issues. He shops online for tickets, books and now, ironically, cakes. "Be a "Winner" and go for the gorgeous looking Calorie Castle, The Big Fat Clown and Heavyweight Race Car." Get your swanky vehicle on EMI, drive to the mall and take the escalator to the food court.

GEETHA PADMANABHAN

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