The popular Korean drama series, Oh My Venus, has caused many hearts to flutter, particularly because of its leading man, Seo Ji-sub.
For yours truly, however, it was more of the storyline on the rise and fall, and rise again, of its leading lady, Shin Min-ah.
The story revolves around Shin’s character, Kang Joo-eun, who is the most popular girl in school, with a pretty face and an enviable figure.
Fast forward more than a decade later, Kang is 33 and has gained a lot of weight. After she is ditched by her boyfriend of 15 years and told she has health issues, she hires Seo’s character, Kim Young-ho, a personal trainer, to push her to the limit so that she can lose weight.
When Kang seemed to be slacking on her workout routine, Kim chides her: “Is your body a disposable object? Are you only going to use it for a day, and throw it away? Wouldn’t it be nice to keep something you’ll use your whole life in peak condition?
This remark is relevant these days, especially when you see many overweight and obese people.
Being told that being overweight and obese will lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and a host of other health complications is nothing new. Time and again, we have been told that we need to change our eating habits and lifestyle to ensure good health.
The fact that one in three Malaysians is overweight and that Malaysia was identified as the most obese nation in the Asean region last year, while disturbing, does not come as a surprise.
Why so? The answer, for some people, is very simple: it is due to a lack of willpower to change. Once too often, I have seen eyes widen and jaws drop when I say 500m is not too much of a distance to walk.
“It is so far!”, some would say, opting to drive instead, and in turn, my eyes would widen with incredulity. And, mind you, those who pass such remarks tend to be young people.
At times, I see people eat heavy meals for supper and I would be at a loss for words. While there is nothing wrong with patronising nasi kandar outlets, just look at the number of diners, especially those having meals at odd hours when one should avoid having heavy meals then.
We can conveniently blame our jobs for our irregular and unhealthy eating habits, as well as the lack of exercise, and while there is a certain degree of truth to that, that does not mean we cannot make an effort to overcome them.
Admittedly, not everyone is able to work out, owing to factors such as age, poor condition of their bodies and illnesses. But, for the rest of us who are able-bodied, what is the excuse for not living a healthy lifestyle?
We would already be on the road to a healthy lifestyle if we make a conscious choice to change by reducing our food portions, eating healthy, exercising as regularly as we can, walking as much as we can, getting as much sleep as possible, and drinking lots of water, among other things. These are steps anyone can take, if they put their hearts and minds to it.
There really is no shortcut to losing weight and staying healthy. Crash diets do not work, but lifestyle changes do.
At the end of the day, no one wants to feel awful about themselves — how they look and how much they weigh. Instead, w e want to feel good knowing that we are taking good care of our bodies.
Our bodies are, after all, not disposable objects, but something that should be kept in peak condition for as long as we live.
The writer is an NST journalist