Visceral fat

"Wow. You look pretty today. What a nice dress you are wearing. Love the jewellery too. Only if you did not have the pot belly you would look amazing," an aunt said while moving to ahead to meet my other relatives. There I was, 22 years old, 5 feet 4 inches tall with weight of 47 kg and waist of 28 inches wondering if I ever look good. Wondering what should be done to reduce the waist to 26 inches. Wondering if that ever was possible.

This was the story of me growing up as a young girl. A girl who was repeatedly told that she had a pot belly. A girl who was always made to feel inferior because of the visceral fat. The fat that was in reality essential to protect the vital organs. However in the eyes of the society it should not exist. Though science said otherwise.

Now I know I was not the only one to be at the receiving end of such remarks. A lot of people see the visceral fat as the fat that needs to be shedded away immediately. A lot of people who do not have an idea of anatomy believe that any fat is a bad fat. Worst, the people who talk about the fat do not ever look into the mirror to see how they actually are (in my experience the people who asked me to shed weight were morbidly obese. But instead of focusing on their own health they decided to make fun of the entire world).

Telling women that they do not have six pack abs how appropriate is that? In reality the visceral fat in women's body is preparing them for their future. The visceral fat has the function of mainly protecting the vital organs including the uterus. The woman's body functions with just one objective - to make it a sacred sanctuary for the new life which she will bring to the world in the future. It does not lean towards the aesthetics but towards the practicality. Women's body work towards the only goal it is aware of. Hence women naturally tend to have visceral fat more than men. It is a simple fact however it is deliberately ignored to make young girls and women uncomfortable (note: this is not patriarchy, this is pure lack of knowledge). In my case the ones who would make remarks on my body were female relatives.

Forget about the relatives let's see the industry. The fashion industry works to definitely make women uncomfortable. In my entire life I never found a perfect pair of Denim that fitted me properly. I always had to buy a jeans that was one size up and had to get it altered to fit my body. Same was the case with my elder sister who was thinner than me. This made me believe that the fashion industry wanted to push toxic ideas towards the body image to women.

In general visceral fat was the one that made me really uncomfortable in my teen years and in my 20s. Now I see that young women are not tolerating these remarks and are fighting back. I feel proud of them. I feel that they are fighting the injustice that happened with us.

In my late 30s I am very comfortable with my body. I am aware that each and every component in my body has a function and it is not for pleasing the standards of aesthetics. I respect my body to the fullest.