No shortcuts

Road to a healthy body is a disciplined one

In the age of rocket science, it would not be a wonder if one would require a Ph.D. to understand the intricacies involved in the art and science of reducing excess weight and coming close to an ideal body state. Obesity is really about reaching and maintaining your ideal weight or body mass index, which targets excess fat deposits within the body. But a closely associated concept is the physical appearance - which raises concerns like body shape, muscle tone, cellulite and disproportionate fat distribution.

Malini Ohri, health and beauty consultant and managing partner of Contours, says: "Obesity can be truly combated only through a permanent change in lifestyle, consuming food which provides adequate calories and exercising regularly.

Wraps, massages and weight/inch loss machines have a specialised role to play in achieving specific results and giving a head start to progammes taken up to combat obesity. Wraps do not lead to weight loss from reduction of fat deposits, but their use is in cellulite reduction and aids the dispersal of toxins from the body. This process leads to measurable inch loss.

Massage is another method to improve blood circulation bringing about increased interchange of tissue fluids, relieving fatigue and relaxing the mind and body. Weight/inch loss machines are electrical body treatments that stimulate localised muscle contraction. This helps loosen fat deposits and cellulite, improves appearance in problem areas like thighs and facilitates firming of body contours. It can reinforce the effectiveness of an overall treatment programme aimed at combating obesity.

Programme

Fathima underwent a three-month programme at Contours, has lost 15 kgs and has been able to maintain it ever since by adopting a lifestyle which includes changes in diet and levels of exercise. Says she: "Weight loss, inch loss and higher energy levels were apparent after four or five sessions. This is an achievement for me and I am glad to have worked with Malini."

Ahmed Abbas, sports rehabilitation counsellor and specialist in performance nutrition, and Helga Bergsteinsdottir, sports rehabilitation and nutrition counsellor at the Euro Gulf Medical Centre in Dubai, says: "The clinical definition of obesity is body fat levels above 20 per cent in men and above 30 per cent in women."

Obesity is associated with many clinical abnormalities, including hyperlipidemia, hypertension, coronary heart disease, reduced range of motion, type II diabetes, increased incidence of stroke and changes in hormones.

Wraps will not lead to loss in body fat. What it does is reposition extra cellular fluid that leads to temporary loss in centimetres. Massage can aid weight loss by improving blood circulation and removing waste products from the body.

While machines working on electrical muscle stimulation cause the muscle to contract just like in resistance training, it does not have a direct effect on the burning of calories as it relies on an external source of energy rather than burning the glycogen within. It aids the removal of cellulite and assists muscle toning to a limited extent.

Diet pills

Some work and some don't. And when they do, often have side-effects. There are, for instance, pills that work by raising calorie consumption by stimulating the nervous system or hindering fat absorption, among others.

Varying side-effects ranging from depression, deficiency of essential nutrients, migraines and intestinal problems can occur depending on the type of pill. Besides, after stopping the intake of pills, the lost weight can be regained with a vengeance.

Natural and modern techniques that can be used to fight obesity can be encapsulated down to the eight technologies of sport and fitness, which are weight training, special forms of light resistance training, psychological techniques, therapeutic modalities, medical support, biomechanics (skill training), dietary manipulation techniques (for example zig zag method of fat loss, eating frequently, eating food low in GI) and nutritional supplementation.