Figure-conscious neglect health
Asha Ahuja

Ludhiana, December 20
Rachna, a 5.8” well built girl, is terribly hassled as she cannot find either jeans or tops her size in the market. The jeans are short and so are the tops. An exasperated Rachna has to buy clothes from men’s section. Similar problem is faced by girls overweight who are a bit as there in hardly any company that caters to the XL sizes.

The market is flooded with attractive clothes both Indian and imported but these are only for girls with size 10 figures. The girls are obsessed with becoming thin and manufacturers seem to be catering to their needs.

Being reed thin is in and several girls are obsessed with this. Millions of girls want to possess figures like their role models Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen and other models whose hour glass figures are flashed on TV screens all the time.

These girls go to gyms and follow mono diets, eating only papaya one day, and only vegetables the next day. A report published by British Medical Association in this regard is an eye opener. It says, “Television, cinema , magazines , beauty pageants show abnormally thin females participating with a lot of glamour attached to them, with the result the common girls are getting obsessed with emulating them. The desire to become thin is leading to anorexia nervosa in a large number of girls.”

Persons having tensions and anxiety and those who are over sensitive and apprehensive about putting on weight suffer from aneroxia. Dr G.K. Nakra says that a decade back there were hardly any patients of anorexia, but now they are found in large numbers. The reasons are that they want to be in designer clothes that lay emphasis on figure.

The clothes are getting skimpier and more revealing and unless one has the figure, one can’t wear it. Secondly staying slim and trim makes one look younger. With this obsession, several women starve themselves.”

According to Dr Raj anorexia as not a disease but a symptom, the patient is always worried about his/her weight. The patient can have black outs, suffer from constipation and dehydration and can lose hair too.The skin loses moisture. The patients can also go into depression. It can become serious as it can affect heart and kidneys.”

LDCA meeting
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, December 20
Annual accounts of the Ludhiana District Cricket Association (LDCA) were adopted with a voice vote at an executive committee meeting of the association held at a hotel here on Thursday night. Twenty six out of a total 32 members attended the meeting, according to a press note issued here today by Mr Vinod Chitkara, honorary general secretary, LDCA.

The meeting also resolved to form a two-member media committee comprising Mr Anil Bharti, vice-president, LDCA, and Mr Vinod Chitkara. The two will be authorised to brief the Press and any other office-bearer and member of the association going to the media will be treated as an act of indiscipline.

To check the alleged incidents of indiscipline by some office-bearers of the association (complaints received from parents of some of the players and trainee, attending the coaching-cum-training camps organised by the LDCA), the executive committee constituted a seven-member “disciplinary committee” under the chairmanship of Mr Charanjit Singh, founder member of the association, which would look into the complaints and take suitable action against the “guilty”, the note said.

3-day sports festival begins
Tribune Reporters

Samrala, December 20
The ninth annual three-day sports festival of the Malwa Sports Association, Samrala, started here today in the Malwa College stadium with great pomp and show. The stadium and the pavilion were decorated tastefully with buntings, hoardings and flags.

Though the start was delayed, there was great enthusiasm among the spectators. Mr Jaspal Singh Jassi, SDM, Samrala, hoisted the flag of the association and declared the games open. Jathedar Kirpal Singh Kheernian, member, SGPC, presided over the function while Mr Jagjit Singh Kang, chairman, Mr Malkiat Singh Dhillon, president, and Mr Devi Dayal Sharma (patron) welcomed the chief guest.

More than 150 bullock-carts entries were made for the competition and more than 200 dogs had reached from Ferozepore, Mukerian, Tanda Urmar, Moga, Khalra, Banner and Gujral. Till the filing of the report, the following results of bullock cart races had been received:

The bullock-cart of Bhupinder Singh Jandal covered the prescribed distance in 19.10 sec, Kamal Preet Singh Delong in 20.14 secs, Bawa Singh Poonam bullock-cart 22.12 sec, Avatar Singh Grewal 19.68 sec and Nabha Singh Ghuman 22.91 sec.