Covid-19: #StayHome is no reason to put on weight

Dubai - If anything, the virus has nibbled away at our appetites.

Every so often these days one comes across a piece on how being confined to the home is going to make us overweight and out of condition. Where body shaming is concerned women get the worst of it, and all the physical pundits are telling us, men and women, to watch out for this negative fallout. Be careful, be aware, be smart.

I have a different take. I believe most of us are losing weight. And with good reason. Women are performing multiple roles. Mother, wife, teacher, maybe even the office if she is a working woman. And cook. She is practically rushed off her feet. Men may have slowed down a bit but there is anxiety and stress and tension over the job, the uncertainty over the future and fear of the virus per se. Food is not a top priority and most people have been smart enough to figure out that this is the time to be frugal and cut back on consumption. There are no parties, no high-calorie dining, no pound parties, no late nights. See for yourself, the slowness of the clock and the preoccupation with your own mindset is making you thinner. I have lost two kilos in the past fortnight. So have you, believe me.

If anything, the virus has nibbled away at our appetites and even young children are not that hungry these days because there are not enough options to expend their energy.

I read a brilliant article the other day about how it wasn't easy parenting 24/7 and that tempers were liable to get frayed and upset the family dynamics. Along with physical space you have to give mental space and that is not easy. Children will pout, they will impose their will arbitrarily and cause you not just annoyance but concern.

Father or mother, you will discover you are running about the house that much more. You are multi-tasking at a much more frenetic pace. And that is good exercise.

I was on the line to a friend and he says there's hardly any time for ourselves, we are constantly on the run. One kid is sulking, the other one thinks this is all our fault. I am useless at home schooling, my wife is running from kitchen to bedroom to upstairs looking for misplaced things. We eat when we can and we eat sparingly.

So do not let it worry you. You will be fine. Don't listen to these body shamers.