City men in size zero groove

HYDERABAD: Guess who is living on juice and fresh air apart from a certain size zero sizzling female actor? Not fashionable women conscious of every calorie in each teaspoon of their diet but Hyderabadi men. Many young and old realtors, businessmen and IT professionals in the city have joined the size zero bandwagon, skipping meals for that slender waist.And yes, anorexia among men is on the rise.
D V Mahendar Rao, 29, does not mind undergoing crash diets. He survives on juices and coconut water for days together "to cut down on calorie content". He admits he suffers from frequent hunger pangs but says he resists them to achieve his aim of a "perfect physique".
While joining gyms was a fad until recently, strapped-for-time males are finding skipping meals easier. Sandeep Gupta, 36, managing director of a transport company says he suffers from guilt pangs each time he gives in to the irresistible fare at parties. He compensates it by skipping a few meals after the party. His sedentary job that leaves him with no time to gym, he says, is the reason why he opted for crash dieting to stay in shape.
So, women obsessed over their weight-loss regime seem passe as men are fighting out a size war here. In a fit to become 'fit', men are resorting to crash dieting and weight loss programmes. "There is an obsession to look good these days among men. They want that perfect (V) figure and to attain that they are ready to go to any extent including crash dieting, even if it makes them anorexic," says Nisha Malhotra, a dietician.
"Good body makes us feel confident and if we feel weak we compensate by taking juice or a biscuit," says chartered accountant M G Rao, a 30-waistline aspirant. Unhappy with his present 33 waist, Rao says he is "working out" to fit in a 30 size even though he is on the wrong side of 40.
Sandeep Gupta, a foodie, adds that he makes aggressive attempts to stick to fruits and boiled vegetables alone and resists hunger pangs through the week. However, he tries to make up for it with weekend binges.
So, how healthy is this dietary pattern? While those practising it are happy with the quick result of bringing down the weight, dietitians say such fluctuation in eating habits is not good in the long run.
Anusha Fathima, a dietician working in Star Hospital at Banjara Hills, recollects how a 25-year-old youth started surviving on eggs to get a desired body shape but ended up with a high cholesterol level at such a young age. "They get misled by these highly publicised weight loss programmes and get inspired to lose weight instantly. So they switch to crash dieting but it backfires and end up having nutritional deficiencies," says Fathima.
The 'thin is in' fever is running high among men and health experts like Nisha Malhotra note that many are even cutting on their essential meals which their body requires. "They simply substitute it with salads and juices without much proper guidance," she says. Well, if the trend continues, the way to a man's heart may no longer be through his stomach.