Body Magic

[Count1]

It used to be that it was the men that had problems with weight. I recollect that in the 70s to 80s conventional wisdom had it that if you were obscenely rich, the best way to show it was to be overweight with a belly that protruded three feet in front of you as a "sign of good living". The only women that were grossly overweight then were the ones that sold materials in "Gutter", an area in Balogun Market. You dreaded sitting next to them on the Alitalia flights, then and in those days there was no compulsion to make such people buy two seats as I hear there is nowadays.

Where was I? Aha, it did not take too long before people realized that obesity shortened one's life as celebrities were dropping like flies. Things changed to exactly the opposite. In the past, slim and average sized people drank "Wate On", a pharmaceutical concoction from the US designed to help you put on weight. I drank it for some months when I was trying to build muscle and used a Chest Expander as I was teased for having a puny chest in Secondary School. Nowadays people jog, walk, ride bicycles, visit gymnasiums, do aerobic workouts and generally swallow all sorts of weight-loss medicine in addition to dieting and excercising in order to lose weight.

The other day I watched a programme on TV of some Ladies in their early to late thirties having a "Girls' Night Out". They had a lot of fun dancing to Old School tunes and bopping to the Evergreen Party boosters. What was painful to the eyes of the viewer though was the amount of fat that was being shimmied with reckless abandon. There was more Cholesterol per kilogramme at that event than you find on a busy day in the Meat abattoir at Agege! It has become most apparent that with all the Fast -food joints and our poor eating habits, that we are developing an obesity problem in our society and more than a few of us need to take care of our BMI (Body Mass Index - a Height : Body weight scale), me inclusive.

But it does not end there. Knowing the Nigerian inventiveness and penchant for the easy way out, some fashionistas re-introduced the Corset and renamed it, "Co-stay". The corset as you well know is a tightly fitted bodice that is fastened by multiple hooks all the way down the front and has "bone", metal inserts that hold in the stomach. It is strenuous to put on, torturous to wear, strictly for women and obviously a turn-off to amorous activities.

Then, some enterprising American lady comes up with this bodice of various lengths which is elasticated so ingeniously, it holds in all the excess flesh firmly and Hey Presto! It presents a trim and respectable figure without exercise, starvation dieting or the struggle to bring two impossibly separated lines of hooks together by force or by fire. I do not know the original name, but the version that is introduced in Nigeria is called "Body Magic"

Body Magic is the rage now among all overweight women and the few humpty-Dumpty men that remain. Granted, it makes you look a bit like a Cross-Channel Swimmer with massive shoulders. You know that look popularized by the Matron, friend of a deceased Nigerian First Lady who went to Spain and had a Tummy -tuck and liposuction on her thighs and arms, reducing her to a delightful size 12, but not for long. Soon the overeating manifested itself again in the shoulders and arms, with the serious stiches in the chest and abdomen refusing to "budge /bulge" and this resulted in an ungainly "Popeye" physique with over-developed shoulders and arms sitting atop an average body.

This is more or less the look popularized now by the "Body Magic". Everywhere you go now, you find gorgeously dressed women in all the finery adorned for the event they are attending, looking smart and trim with no wobble whatsoever. Not even the rhythmic, 17, 18, 19, bobo , useless bottom, shaking like this- Bankatalakatansin - olabisi of the "thick" glorious African female backside! What I would like to call African Magic. (Apologies DSTV).

What I find most interesting is that this syndrome is mostly found amongst the Middle-Belt Ages - the thirties to forties. It seems for some reason, those over forty have heard the early warning bells of ill health and you see them exercising along the roads in the low density areas or going to the National Stadium. We need to emphasize good health more as a Primary focus of health. It will save funds in our health systems and reduce early mortality in adults. Let's stop taking the easy way out!

SAY NO TO BODY MAGIC AND YES! TO EXERCISE!

[First-lady]

It used to be that it was the men that had problems with weight. I recollect that in the 70s to 80s conventional wisdom had it that if you were obscenely rich, the best way to show it was to be overweight with a belly that protruded three feet in front of you as a "sign of good living". The only women that were grossly overweight then were the ones that sold materials in "Gutter", an area in Balogun Market. You dreaded sitting next to them on the Alitalia flights, then and in those days there was no compulsion to make such people buy two seats as I hear there is nowadays.

Where was I? Aha, it did not take too long before people realized that obesity shortened one's life as celebrities were dropping like flies. Things changed to exactly the opposite. In the past, slim and average sized people drank "Wate On", a pharmaceutical concoction from the US designed to help you put on weight. I drank it for some months when I was trying to build muscle and used a Chest Expander as I was teased for having a puny chest in Secondary School. Nowadays people jog, walk, ride bicycles, visit gymnasiums, do aerobic workouts and generally swallow all sorts of weight-loss medicine in addition to dieting and excercising in order to lose weight.

The other day I watched a programme on TV of some Ladies in their early to late thirties having a "Girls' Night Out". They had a lot of fun dancing to Old School tunes and bopping to the Evergreen Party boosters. What was painful to the eyes of the viewer though was the amount of fat that was being shimmied with reckless abandon. There was more Cholesterol per kilogramme at that event than you find on a busy day in the Meat abattoir at Agege! It has become most apparent that with all the Fast -food joints and our poor eating habits, that we are developing an obesity problem in our society and more than a few of us need to take care of our BMI (Body Mass Index - a Height : Body weight scale), me inclusive.

But it does not end there. Knowing the Nigerian inventiveness and penchant for the easy way out, some fashionistas re-introduced the Corset and renamed it, "Co-stay". The corset as you well know is a tightly fitted bodice that is fastened by multiple hooks all the way down the front and has "bone", metal inserts that hold in the stomach. It is strenuous to put on, torturous to wear, strictly for women and obviously a turn-off to amorous activities.

Then, some enterprising American lady comes up with this bodice of various lengths which is elasticated so ingeniously, it holds in all the excess flesh firmly and Hey Presto! It presents a trim and respectable figure without exercise, starvation dieting or the struggle to bring two impossibly separated lines of hooks together by force or by fire. I do not know the original name, but the version that is introduced in Nigeria is called "Body Magic"

Body Magic is the rage now among all overweight women and the few humpty-Dumpty men that remain. Granted, it makes you look a bit like a Cross-Channel Swimmer with massive shoulders. You know that look popularized by the Matron, friend of a deceased Nigerian First Lady who went to Spain and had a Tummy -tuck and liposuction on her thighs and arms, reducing her to a delightful size 12, but not for long. Soon the overeating manifested itself again in the shoulders and arms, with the serious stiches in the chest and abdomen refusing to "budge /bulge" and this resulted in an ungainly "Popeye" physique with over-developed shoulders and arms sitting atop an average body.

This is more or less the look popularized now by the "Body Magic". Everywhere you go now, you find gorgeously dressed women in all the finery adorned for the event they are attending, looking smart and trim with no wobble whatsoever. Not even the rhythmic, 17, 18, 19, bobo , useless bottom, shaking like this- Bankatalakatansin - olabisi of the "thick" glorious African female backside! What I would like to call African Magic. (Apologies DSTV).

What I find most interesting is that this syndrome is mostly found amongst the Middle-Belt Ages - the thirties to forties. It seems for some reason, those over forty have heard the early warning bells of ill health and you see them exercising along the roads in the low density areas or going to the National Stadium. We need to emphasize good health more as a Primary focus of health. It will save funds in our health systems and reduce early mortality in adults. Let's stop taking the easy way out!

SAY NO TO BODY MAGIC AND YES! TO EXERCISE!

Tehehehehehehehehe
Try hugging someone wearing one
I have described it like hugging an immovable Iroko tree

A woman in Naija came to church one day wearing one
She had just returned from a trip to obodo oyibo and she looked amazing in her gown first Sunday back
Everyone complimented her
Little did the congregation know that she was about to pass out
she struggled to sit through the service but after the second hour,she could not bear it any longer
As soon as the collections was over she followed the female usher carrying the offering plate into the church vestry,she locked the door behind them and before the usher could ask what was happening the woman unzipped her dress and dropped it revealing the straight jacket underneath and pleaded with the usher to unhook her immediately.
The usher dropped the offering plate and began unfastening the hooks down to her crotch and the sister took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh.

She put her dress back on,sat and rested a while then went back in to continue with the service.
That is a true story

[Ladybirrd]

Couldn't agree more with you Villager or is it Count?

Exercise is extremely difficult to remain committed, but the long term results and benefits even better.
BTW this is not just naija wahala o! it's everywhere.