The Whole Business of Compulsive Eating

Thank laleen, I have responded you on your link:)
Yes Padash, Thankyou,I will certainly be writing more.

@ csg, It is indeed an issue that creates various social and personal constraints in ones life. Although politics is variedly my area of interest, I like to expand my horizon by touching different topics.

I will inshaAllah bring in some more variety.

Hi, I just posted a response to your comments on my article. Thanks

Thanks Kiran. I look forward to reading more similar articles from you!

Kiran,

thanks for this article- obesity simply needs to be taken seriously-it takes too much toll on one's quality of life.

write more health related stuff - frankly its refreshing amidst all the armchair politics.. :-)

Re: # 2
Thank you Padash, I have been a victim of compulsive eating myself. With my experiences I will not deny that its highly indulgent and requires great control, but once we break the barriers of plastic fears we will realize the ease of it. And InshaAllah accomplish a healthy life.

Re: # 1
First of all Thankyou for welcoming me on chowk. I have always wanted to write here. Somehow chowk is more benefiting than writing for DAWN as here we get our feedback and the chapter doesn't just close with the last full stop of our written pieces. I plan to write more.
You are very right about exercise program. Some very interesting exercise and yoga programs have been available at RadioCity in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. There are dance programs that are so easy and flexible and fun, that one may not even realize how conveniently they are loosing weight. The problem here, is all these facilities are available not yet for the masses. Either most people do not know about them, or they do not have access to them.
TV channels should play their role here. Instead of having high-profile diet gurus who make people buy expensive food and more expensive exercise equipments that are un-affordable to the masses, they should spill out some secrets. Share real information on staying healthy within one's capacity.

Thank you Taji, Padash and bjkumar for your feedbacks.
Highlighting a very valid point that Taji has brought forward here about the transfer of habits from mother to child.
I have a friend Tom who is an unstoppable compulsive eater. Her habit has an emotional background since her teenage as she got her habit from her mother, [who developed the habit because she was going through a divorce]. Tom here has lived with terrible eating habits and when she had her son, she feared he would develop the habit as well.
'It is easier said than done' she'd always tell me, whenever she committed to a resolution of watching on her bad habit. Yet her son who is now 14 and over weight is living proof of her failures to accomplish control.

Eating disorders are tricky subjects to write about. Some people may think these to be vanity related problems. However for a number of women, poor body image combined with bad eating habits, can be as damaging as any lethal illness. I would also like to point out that compulsive eating in mothers can promote similar behavior in their children, resulting in childhood obesity, which is perhaps even more difficult to shed later on.

Kiran: Very glad that you chose to write this article. I applaud you and such awareness really needs to be created. As a young girl who struggled with weight during my teenage years and now on the other end of the spectrum, i know exactly how body image issues affects us girls. Kudos to you! =)

Kiran, welcome to chowk.com!

This is an important article on a very relevant topic. The act of eating is indeed inherently appealing to us – men or women. There are very few people who can resist one type of food or another. The easy availability of prepared foods and snacks makes it even more likely that people would give in to the urge. That was not the case in India till recently.

Overweight has been a problem in the USA for a while. Now it has gotten much worse and more and more individuals have crossed the line from overweight to obese. It is an unfortunate fact that this problem is disproportionately worse among minorities.

I have noticed a perceptible change for the worse over the last decade. I have run into situations when folks next to me in aircraft seats were clearly uncomfortable because they were too big for those seats. I routinely run into situations where the presence of a large man causes folks to wait for the next elevator instead.

Diet only works if it also involves a change of mindset in the way we look at food – as a necessity to be addressed but not so much of a pleasure to enjoy. It is an extremely difficult transition to make.

The other side of the equation involves the level of physical activity that one conducts. It has been constantly going down. However, most forms of exercise cause physical discomfort and folks eventually stop. So the strategy there needs to be the opposite of that for food – in other words, exercise programs should be designed so as to provide enjoyment and not so much as a painful necessity to undergo.