By
Neha Sethi
Photo:Jaishree
Have you stopped eating or are you on a strict diet to attain that perfect size? Beware. You might be heading towards health loss rather than weight loss. Anorexia, an eating disorder is on the rise in India and you might be the next victim. Neha Sethi talks about anorexia, its symptoms and after effects.
Rekha (name changed), a 16-year old, who weighed 75 kgs was very conscious of being fat. Constant nagging by classmates and not enough care at home drove her to the brink of developing anorexia. “One day Rekha’s mother came to me and said that she was worried because her daughter was eating very less and was also behaving in a peculiar manner,” says Dr Geetu Amarnani, Nutrition expert, Kolmet Hospital, Pusa Road.

Amarnani says that these symptoms indicate the probability of developing anorexia later on. “These days we get many cases like these. Rekha is just an example, but there are many more like her,” she adds. “Anorexia” she says, “is a kind of eating disorder which can later develop into a psychological problem, if attention is not paid and treatment is not given.”

The general conception is that anorexia usually affects adolescents. But trends of increasing number of cases of anorexia have been observed even amongst adults in the West. “Anorexia is a disorder observed in teenagers from 13-18 years of age, and it is mostly girls who are affected. I haven’t come across any adult case till now,” says Dr Vandana Garg, Consultant Physician, Goodwill Hospital, Noida.

“Anorexia is a relatively new disorder in India. Also, it is mostly prevalent amongst the urban middle or urban rich class,” says Dr Atul Sardana, Consultant Surgeon at Kolmet Hospital. He holds the media responsible for the increasing number of cases of anorexia in the country. “All girls want an hour-glass figure these days. They all want to be as thin as models and actresses.”

The same sentiment is echoed by Rekha’s mother, who didn’t want to be named. “When I came to know that Rekha has started eating very less, I went to her room to talk to her. And imagine my shock, when all around her room walls all I see is newly pinned posters of toothpick thin models and actresses. They were her inspiration.”

Dr Amarnani says anorexia can also be attributed to changing lifestyle trends in India. “Due to busy schedules, most women don’t have time to keep a check on what their children are eating. This means the children get more influenced by television and their friends.”

Anorexia can prove to be very dangerous if not diagnosed and treated early, says Dr.Amarnani. “It is during adolescence that the body builds stocks of vitamins, calcium and iron. If a person does not eat properly during that age, then it becomes very difficult to replenish those sources later in life,” she adds.

Shruti Yadav, 22, a law student at Delhi University, New Delhi, who lost 20 kgs when she was 18 says, “I lost weight only because I was regular with my exercise routine. I never skipped meals and nor did I overdo exercise. It is not necessary to diet or starve to lose weight. I lost 20 kgs without doing any of that.”

Weight loss should not become an obsession. As Dr.Amarnani says, “Family has a very important role to play. They should educate their children about the right and wrong ways to lose weight and keep a check on them.”



Common symptoms of Anorexia:

· Fatigued and tired look
· Thin appearance
· Frequent dizziness
· Low blood counts
· Some irregularities in menstrual cycles
· Uninterested in activities happening around
· Making excuses to avoid eating food
· Withdrawal or seclusion
· In extreme cases, chest pain


Anorexia may lead to:

· Malnutrition
· Deficiency of vitamins and iron in the body which leads to anemia
· Dark circles under the eye
· Lack of calcium leading to muscle wasting or bone thinning
· Stress
· Depression
· Body cannot cope up with deficiencies
· Miscarriage during pregnancy

By
Moonis Ahmad

Prophecy raises several questions and generates great interest amongst its believers. But when it is combined with photography, it evokes even greater curiosity.

The packed affair at the lecture on ‘photography and prophecy’ by Professor Christopher Pinney, an anthropologist and an art historian from London School of Economics, was an indication to go by. The media resource centre of AJK MCRC organized the talk on September 3.

The occasion also saw debates on various traditions in photography. From colonial to post-colonial trends, the shift in practices of photography from an instrument of measurement to current visual popular culture backed by technology.

“Whatever that is recorded by facts must have also been captured. This gives primacy to photography as a discipline,” Prof Christopher Pinney argued. “The period prior to 1830s saw the dominance of painting as an art form to depict the surroundings, rather an era where only gods and kings had faces. With the coming of portraiture in photography this barrier was transcended.”

Reading excerpts from his book ‘Photography’s other histories’ attention was drawn to Alkazi collection of pictures and how there was a coincidence between photography and telegraphy. The colonial photographic archives were based on representing heroism and other ‘British Raj’ achievements, he said.

With the coming of portraiture in photography, it became performative in nature bordering on moral instruction. The significance of colonial photography was mainly in the creation of metropolitan self identity, the professor writes in his book, Camera Indica.

The power point presentation of the photos of colonial period depicted the culture and historical consciousness of the era. The picture of Humayun tomb in Delhi after the revolt of 1857 drew debates and responses from the participants. Ms Sabina Gadihoke, faculty of Video and TV, MCRC, shared her understanding about the colonial photography and zenana (women) photographers.

The whole lecture tried to break the popular myth that photographic history is best seen as the explosion of western technology.

Sunil Gupta, an independent photographer, drew a parallel between colonial photography and the present practice of embedded photojournalists. “The trend followed by American administration in the Middle East and Afghanistan needs to be looked at closely and is similar to colonial traditions of photography.”

The questions raised at the end of the lecture were limited because of time crunch. Some students found the academic nature of the lecture difficult to follow. However, the participants agreed that it did open a new perspective towards photography as a discipline.