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In a twist of irony, in my 40th year on this planet, I received a Barbie Doll from my daughter. I never bought her one in my joyless, righteous, feminist young mother avatar. I may have never bought it, but I have observed the doll for its response to the zeitgeist, just like our homegrown Amul girl. In February 2020, Barbie’s creator — the American toy company, Mattel — launched a Barbie Wellness Collection. The Fitness Barbie came dressed in leggings and a pink tank top, armed with a set of hand weights, a gym bag, a yoga mat, a hula hoop, a water bottle, and a protein bar. Because Barbie is never wrong, fitness, wellness, and health are in vogue. And so are puppies that the Fitness Barbie carries for self-care.
Gen Z uses wellness apps, tracks sleep, exercises more sometimes, is more open about mental health, and seeks therapeutic help (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Sitting in an airport lounge waiting for an ungodly long connecting flight, I’m already shaking in terror at the prospect of being bombarded with kale, baked “fries,” matcha, milks with no milk in them, sugar-free sweets, and alcohol-free cocktails. I’m leaving my privileges and stubbornness at the immigration counter. There’s no getting away now from the health-ers, propped up by the multi-billion dollar health and wellness industry, which is fighting the good fight against the multi-billion dollar Big Pharma.
In the ongoing fight, suddenly, everyone in the world — at least where children are not being bombed day and night or homes aren’t being destroyed by flood, fire, or fury — is healthy. Everyone is sleeping on time, waking up for a run, going about their day, counting their protein intake, and going to bed only after an elaborate self-care routine. Yet, our medical bills, frequently rejected by insurance companies, tell a slightly different story.
Surveys show that people today are far more likely to report that health is a priority. For instance, Gen Z uses wellness apps, tracks sleep, exercises more sometimes, is more open about mental health, and seeks therapeutic help. The “health culture” is going strong. So strong that even the Indian government is concerned and has addressed mental health and obesity directly in the last Economic Survey. Despite all this, we seem to be practising concern more than achieving health.
We, the privileged, who are reading this essay on our digital screens, arguably have unprecedented awareness, unprecedented resources (information, technology, medical care), and unprecedented public health efforts aimed at lifestyle, mental health, and diet. Yet, despite floods of advice, apps, and warnings, the prevalence of obesity, mental health conditions, and non-communicable diseases continues to rise.
Globally speaking, about 890 million adults are clinically categorised as obese. 2.5 billion are overweight. What is more worrisome is that childhood obesity is rising steeply in countries where children can procure and eat meals without getting killed. This is despite their sports kits, ballet lessons, and other institutionalised “healthy” habits.
According to the WHO data, only about 25% of boys and 15% of girls achieve the WHO’s daily recommended 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The statistics are more horrifying for adults. Despite our protein intake logs and calorie-bounded diets, our medicine cabinets are overflowing. What is worse, in an attempt to achieve our body’s wellness goals, our mental constitution is breaking down. In India, more than 10% of adults experience some mental disorder, with treatment gaps of 70-92%. Yes, we like to talk about mental health more than we seek appropriate treatment for the same.
It is true that in past decades, underweight, infectious diseases, and childhood mortality have been in decline globally. But non-communicable diseases and the so-called “lifestyle” diseases like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mental disorders are rising. The disease burden due to unhealthy diets, even in countries like India, where malnutrition is still a problem, is over half. The sentient among us are working to fix this lifestyle, like Sisyphus trying to push the boulder to the summit.
Like the Fitness Barbie, we are surrounded by our health toolkits. We are spoilt for choice. Is it the choice overload that’s weighing down our shoulders and causing our spines to hurt? Or perhaps we are so busy talking about wellness that we have no time for living well. In boarding schools, those who talked the most about sex were sure to be getting the least exposure to it.
Health is the new sex, with new fetishes, new rules of exhibitionism, new symbols, and new paradoxes. Like an adult doll pretending to be a toy for children.
Nishtha Gautam is an author and academic. The views expressed are personal
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