As a young person growing up, what actually caught my fancy and whipped my appetite was when woman gave birth in our household. It was normally accompanied with salivating dishes most especially fufu spiced with soup silted with all kinds of meat, “wele”, crabs, fish etc and sometimes slightly red plantain mashed and drenched in oil, grilled groundnut and eggs (3to)
This was usually the best time for some of us to pregnant our bellies with sumptuous meals, a rare delicacy.
A woman shortly after giving birth was always expected to look plump and slightly obese
to show how her husband had been responsible. Some ladies whom for some reasons might not put on weight right after giving birth would usually indulge in taking weight enhancing medicines such as “paratin”. A woman attending postpartum care forty days after delivering her baby, commonly referred to as “attending maternity” normally attracted sneers and scorn from gossip-monger if she looked emaciated or scrawny. This was to register their disgust that her husband had been irresponsible.
In the good old days, an Ashanti man description of a Fante woman or a Ga woman would not be complete without complimenting on her “busy body” or her plump-looking shape, and a man with protruding stomach or pot belly was revered as a rich person or someone who lived a good life and many women would yearn to have such a person for a husband, but today most ladies would crave for guys with so-called “six-pack”.
This phenomenon has now taken a nose dive and models, celebrities and many women from all class now prefer to look slender and skinny just to be in tune with the fashion world. Many women now use both proper and crude ways just to look slender including the use of tight-lacing corset.
It is indisputable fact that overweight and obesity may increase the risk of many health problems including cancer, diabetes, heart diseases and hypertension. This fact sheet tells us more about the link between excess weight and many health conditions as well as explain how reaching and maintaining a normal weight may help you to stay healthier.
In this light, proper ways must be adopted to reduce weight through engaging in weight-shedding exercise including going to the gym, engaging in more physical activities and engaging in sports.
Sadly, in the desperate attempt look more slender and sexy-looking, many women do not only starve their stomachs but also use tight-lacing corset to make their tummies’ look slender and flat oblivious of the dangerous effects of prolonged use of tight-lacing corset. (Corset is a garment worn to hold and shape the torso into a desired shape for aesthetic or medical purpose). Attending my first pool party for the semester dawned on me that some ladies smile in pain because they want to look cute and sexy.
According to medical professionals, the heart is damaged by corset. If a person shrinks the size of his or her rib cage significantly, it is believed that it can leave little space for the heart, thus leading to inevitable palpitations.
The constriction of the corset, if too tight, prevents the lower lobes of the lungs from fully expanding when taking a breath. This puts extra strain on the lungs and causes additional work for the lower lobes of the lungs.
It is also argued that with a tight-laced corset, the stomach would not be able to churn correctly, making it difficult to digest food completely.
The liver also experiences many complications while the body is tight-laced, becoming severed due to the location of the ribs as a result of the tight lacing, and that the liver would become enlarged or displaced.
Not only that, the uterus is believed to suffer the most from tight-lacing, failing to develop properly due to the inactivity of the abdominal muscles or becoming prolapsed.
It worth noting that the use of tight-lacing corset for prolonged period may give you that stylish and sexy looking but also has the propensity to cost your life.
Writer: Abdul-Karim Mohammed Awaf(Fayar)
Abdulkarimmohammedawaf.blogspot.com.
