School girls starving to score size zero: Study

Ever since Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor flaunted her size zero figure in one of her films, it has become a trend among young girls. In their desperate bid to acquire that figure, young girls are abandoning healthy food eating habits.

A study conducted by the SVT college has revealed that most of the girls in private schools were obsessed with the size zero figure.

But there’s a flip side to the story. According to doctors and nutritionists, young children are developing an unhealthy relationship with food to acquire the size zero figure.

Dr Jagmeet Madan, principal investigator of this project and president of the Indian Dietetics Association (Mumbai Chapter), said: “We observed that girls in some private schools were on starvation diet to acquire a size zero figure (Anorexia Nervosa). They have been skipping meals due to misconceptions about foods and the fear of putting on weight. In government schools, there was gross under nutrition due to lack of insight and ignorance about quality eating habits. Teachers and parents were also ignorant about healthy food practice.”

According to experts, most girls have got their own slim-figure idols. They feel a slim figure will help them achieve success in the modelling world.

Most girls compare themselves to their friends and compete to lose weight faster. This is a global phenomenon. Recently, a study in Britain found nearly half of the girls aged below 14 on a strict diet. Some were even taking slimming pills.

Diet and nutrition specialist Rujuta Diwekar said, “I think parents need to address this problem. Mothers put themselves on a diet and girls follow suit. I saw some girls aged between 14 and 16 spend their whole day dieting. They must be taught about good eating habits. It will create awareness among the students.”

Dr Yusuf Matcheswala, psychiatrist, Masina hospital, said, “Due to starvation, girls become anorexic. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterised by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Such girls may face vitamin D deficiency, menstrual problem and hormonal imbalance.”