Let People Lose Weight in Peace
”Ah! Why are you so lean?” ”What is happening to you?” ”Are you all right?”
These are the common expressions of concern people have for those they notice have lost weight.
The average Nigerian equates excess weight, pot belly, etc with a sign of affluence or being healthy. The bigger the belly, the more affluent you are. When such individuals are noticed to have lost weight, the cry goes up, ”What is happening? Are you sick?
They could even whisper behind your back, ”Maybe he has HIV, you know his ways are not straight.”
Is My Weight loss Normal?
Though weight loss can sometimes be an indication of an ongoing disease process, other times it may just come about as a result of improved fitness of the individual, deliberate weight loss attempts, and the normal aging process.
I’ve seen patients reduce from an unhealthy weight to a healthier weight but people of the world won’t let them be. ”Mr Richard why are you getting so lean, you are not eating again? Maybe you should try some blood tonic.”
These individuals who otherwise should be commended for having lost weight are now forced to become unhappy with their self-image and this may affect their confidence levels.
There is a need to educate the general public that being overweight or looking like a ”big man” makes an individual prone to a lot of decapacitating illnesses like hypertension, diabetes, atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome , obstructive sleep apnea, arthritis, and even cancers.
How to know if your loss of weight is not normal
- Rapid weight loss in a few weeks may indicate an underlying disease
- Weight loss associated with paleness
- Weight loss associated with swelling of parts of the body
- Weight loss associated with constitutional symptoms like recurrent diarrhea and fever
if the above doesn’t apply to your weight loss journey and people are just on your case, just tell them you are fine and they should mind their own business.