I often say “food is fun”. But, unlike some philosophers who say wise stuff but don’t do what they say, I walk the talk.
I enjoy my meals, snacks and stuff in between. But, on my path to fun eating, I often encounter a familiar roadblock: My wife.
She began a crusade to control my weight early in our marriage, despite my pointing out that, if she were successful, she would have less husband to interact with.
Over the years, she has steadfastly maintained that my weight problem has something to do with my eating (excessively) and exercising (inadequately).
When I find a dessert particularly enjoyable, which happens on weekdays and weekends, she asks me to desist from having a third helping. And, when I put up my feet to watch an enthralling television programme like American Ninja Warrior, she suggests I visit the actual gym instead.
A few years ago, while idly browsing the internet, I hit on an article that piqued my interest. I read it with rising excitement, printed out the relevant portion in large font and walked over to my wife in the kitchen.
“For years, you’ve insisted my weight problem has to do with my habits,” I said, injecting a blend of pain and accusation in my tone. She looked anything but contrite. “I insist again, now,” she said.
“You’re wrong!” I said. “Recent research shows that my weight problem has nothing to do with me but with my friends. Fatness breeds fatness in the fraternity. Obesity spreads like conjunctivitis from friend to mate to chum. So if I’m not lithe and lissome like a fishing rod, the fault lies with my not-so-slim pals. Here, read this.”
I affixed the printed note to the refrigerator and watched with satisfaction as she read the section I had selected: “In analysing the Framingham data, Dr Christakis and Dr Fowler found that friends, and friends of friends, had similar levels of obesity, but neighbours did not.
“Dr Christakis and Dr Fowler proposed a few possible explanations...
The third explanation… was contagion… its effect was large. They theorised that a person’s idea of an acceptable weight changes when he sees how big his friends are or how much they eat.”
She stared at the paper, speechless. I continued.
“My weight problem is caused by the stout company surrounding me. For example…” I named a few of my friends who carry a lot of weight, literally.
For a few days, I enjoyed seeing the paragraph in big letters on the fridge whenever I opened its door to access goodies. More than that, I enjoyed not hearing that the goodies would not do my waistline any good.
Two weeks later, it was gone. Thinking it might have slipped under the magnet, I began looking for it on the floor.
“I’ve torn it up,” said my wife, a nasty grin on her face. “Today I realised what was wrong. It said the scientists had proposed “a few possible explanations” but you had omitted the first two. Why didn’t you give me the full article to read?”
“Oh, the rest was just technical stuff that would’ve bored you,” I said airily. “The point is these two renowned doctors are very gung-ho about the third explanation.”
Her grin became wider. “You did not include the part about many scientists being sceptical about the findings of Christakis and Fowler,” she said. “Let me read from the same article.”
Without any sense of shame, she had copied my method and printed something herself. She began to read aloud: ‘Those surprising conclusions have drawn heated criticism from other scientists who claim that the studies’ methodology was flawed and the original data completely inadequate to estimate the role that contagion might play in the spread of these behaviours.”
I said: “I wouldn’t pay that much heed. The point is Christakis and Fowler are firm about their conclusions.
“Scientists are always sceptical about other scientists’ work – that’s the way the game is played.”
“And of course, you’re an expert on scientific matters,” she said.
I smiled modestly.
“I was being sarcastic,” she said. “In any case, even if there is some truth in this, I can’t go around convincing your friends to lose weight so that the ripples will reach you, and cause your kilogrammes to diminish. Sorry, we will stick to the age-old technique: more exercise and less eating for you.”
As usual, when faced with scientific evidence, she had dug in her heels and stuck to her archaic viewpoint. I wondered if she was so stubborn because of her friends.
