Fitness Vs Health ?

I am sorry. Did I confuse you? Are these not the same? Have you not mostly used the two words
interchangeably? “Am I not healthy if I am fit?” Is that what you are thinking? So, tell me, are you fit or healthy or both? Recent news of Sourav Ganguli getting a cardiac arrest at a relatively young age of 48 has made people sit up and take notice. After all, he was an active sportsperson and endorsing Fortune Rice Bran ‘Health’ Oil 😊 (Do we really expect Ajay Devgan to eat Vimal Pan Masala or Aamir Khan to use Vivo mobile phones or Salman Khan to wear Rupa underwear or whichever brand he endorses?). A school friend, unfortunately, couldn’t survive and passed away a week shy of his 50^th birthday.

Let’s get into a bit of details.

How do people define fitness? Generally, being ‘fit’ is the ‘external’ look and feel. For men, it would mean having six packs, biceps, chiseled looks or a lean body. For women, it could be having a 36-24-36 figure (or whatever is the going dimension) or being slim. To achieve this, people could either (a) eat right and work out regularly, (b) take the easy route by getting surgeries or (c) adopt unhealthy practices of eating less and slogging their bodies. Not many people opt for option (a) as it is the hard way and being genetically lazy, most of us adopt the easy, unhealthy routes. Which means we would ‘look’ fit but could be unhealthy.

I think now you would have understood that ‘fitness’ is external while ‘health’ is internal. Further, being healthy should comprise both physical & mental health. A couple of takeaways from a wonderful book I read recently, “The Body” by Bill Bryson, are (1) On an average, a healthy person would live 4.2 years more than an unhealthy person. Note the word ‘average’. Being healthy DOESN’T mean you would live 4.2 years more than your unhealthy, obese, smoker, alcoholic neighbor. It just means you might have a higher ‘probability’. (2) ‘Inactivity’ CANNOT be nullified by ‘activity’. If you have a relatively inactive day, then you can do whatever you want but you cannot negate the negative effects of your inactivity. Slogging your ass off in the evening in the gym will not help if you were staring at your computer screen for 8 hours.

There are some simple ways to know if you are healthy or not. Just because you are slim or ‘look’ fit, doesn’t mean you would be healthy as well. As I mentioned above, only the probability would be a bit higher. So, bloody well get your annual medicals done. Heredity plays a very nasty role in what all is happening inside you. There is a clear scientific evidence of you having hypertension, diabetes, cancer or heart disease if your ancestors had it. Again, it means higher probability. Doesn’t mean you will definitely get it. Another simple indicator is the sleep you are getting - both quantity & quality. If you sleep for 6-8 hours at a stretch with maybe one pee break in between then you can be more of less assured of both your physical AND mental health. Either of your physical health issues or mental status can prevent you from having proper sleep. To make it worse, since the whole purpose of a good sleep is to regenerate your cells and rejuvenate your mind, absence of it would make you spiral into a vicious cycle. Finally, keep an eye on your digestion. Even Bhagwad Gita cites digestion as the second ‘prana’ or source of life after breath. If you are not suffering from any of the numerous stomach ailments then there is a good chance that you are healthy. Notice the word ‘chance’ again.

The only similarity between your external self & internal being is that both of them are unique to you. Just like you look different from everyone else on the planet, your internal capabilities are also totally different from all. What looks good on someone else might not look good on you. The soap, shampoo & cream that works for you can create allergies for your friend. Similarly, the food that someone who you think is ‘fit’ might not suit you or the exercise regime that the person you admire the most can lead to ruptured ligaments. Knowing yourself is the key.

There are numerous myths that a lot of us still believe to be true like walking 10,000 steps a day or drinking 8 glasses of water or that carbohydrates are bad. These have absolutely no scientific proof to back them. Find out what works for you and follow that.

Remember, you need to be fit AND healthy. You can now enjoy your parantha.