They may make skinny jeans look attractive, but how far can you go to widen the gap between your thighs?
It's the body trend which's launched numeroud blogs, Twitter IDs and memes in the west. While back in India, the thigh gap may not have acquired cult status yet, cosmetic surgeons and gym trainers say young Indian women are interested to widen the distance between their inner thighs.
Do you have one?
Stand straight opposite a mirror with your back upright, your left and right knees touching each other. If you notice space between your inner thighs, you have got yourself a thigh gap. Very few women manage to attain this naturally, driving some to unnatural diets which may result in eating disorders. Majority of Indian women won't see one because of their genes.
Fitness experts we spoke to, said Indian women are generally blessed with child-bearing hips. "Compared to western counterparts, Indian women have wider pelvic bones, making their thighs thicker. They are unlikely to have the gap naturally," says cosmetic expert Dr Abraham Zachariah, head of the cosmetology department at Marol's Seven Hills Hospital.
Fitness guru Leena Mogre agrees. "Most of the Indians have an endomorphic body type; usually short and stocky, prone to weight gain, especially around the hip and thigh area," she says.
Genesis of idea
It is this trend which can be directly linked to the way the world of fashion and entertainment lays down rules of a perfect body. Style bibles tell them they must be fashionistas. Nothing less than a Asos dress (or at least a rip-off) will do. And to fit into the current styles, they must have the body for it. Counselors say it's up to parents to help their children maintain a good body image. The belief they must instill into their girls is to eat nutrition rich diet and be fit, rather than trying to achieve zero figure.
Fill into the gap
Mansi Astha, a physiotherapist and consultant at Santacruz's K11 Fitness Academy, says the gym regularly gets women of age group 25-50, who are concerned about fat reduction in specific areas. After the abs, the thighs are their nightmare. "They want to look attractive in skinny jeans, short skirts and shorts — outfits which focus attention on the legs. So, losing fat from their thighs becomes a priority," she says, adding that spot reduction is far from easy, if possible at all. "Each individual is prone to fat accumulation in a different parts of the body. This also happens to be the most difficult area to burn fat, so we don't encourage members to work out specific areas."
With a fight against genes, for the Indian woman, being slim would not guarantee a thigh gap. "You would have to be very determined in your workout regime to acquire it," adds Astha.
Extreme measure
What would work then, counter- productively of course, would be extreme diets. Some women choose to go the surgical route.
Cosmetic surgeons across Mumbai admit to receiving a regular stream of customer asking for fat removal from their thighs.
Dr Zachariah, who gets 6 patients a month for fat removal from the thighs, says the demand has functional reasons too. In not-so-slim-bodies, the inner thighs rub against each other, making walking difficult. If the thighs are regularly pressed against each other, not only does the skin in the area turn dark and irritable, in our humid weather, it could result in yeast infections.
Dr Mohan Thomas, cosmetic surgeon at Breach Candy Hospital & Cosmetic Surgery Institute says that in the west, the obsession with thin thighs is as old as the beach culture. "When I was a medical student in the US, we would call it letting the light through — the idea being that when there's a silhouette with the legs joined together, light should be able to pass through the legs."
Dr Thomas receives 4 patients a week, concerned about thick thighs. He says they may not use the term 'thigh gap', but are obsessed with the area nevertheless.
Delhi-based blogger Swati Ailawadi, put up a recent post against the thigh gap, asking people if any of them were trying to achieve one. "While I didn't receive any replies on it, I had heard from a friend that a lot of female students were trying to achieve it just before they are to begin college," she says over the phone.
But who really requires one?
Fashion designer Prasad Bidappa, who has mentored generations of models, including Deepika Padukone, says only supermodels who walk the ramp need bother. "When you are on ramp, you have to be a particular body type. And most of these women have that shape naturally, which is improved by years of exercise and a strict diet," he says, adding, "We get girls as young as 14 aspiring to be models. Some of them are not tall, or are voluptuous. They may never become ramp models but they are good for print modelling and for acting in TV and films. But we never advise them to go for surgery. If you can't get it from physical workout, don't aspire for it."
And to those willing to go to dietary extremes, Dr Thomas shares some bad news, "Starving won't help losing fat from regions like the butt and thigh."
Dr Purwa Duggal, a nutritionist with Fortis Hospital, explains stubborn fat in areas such as thighs, hips, butt etc. are influenced by oestrogen. Prolonged starvation does not necessarily mean burning fat. initially it may cause muscle wasting or utilisation of glycogen stores.
Catecholamines, which are fight or flight hormones developed in the body in response to stress, are required to burn fat. "Blood flow to stubborn fat areas is generally very poor, as a result, the catecholamines are unable to reach the area to mobilise the fat. Even if the fat is mobilised, while it continues to be in the blood stream, it may get re-deposited in the original areas," she adds. However, both she and macrobiotic nutritionist Shonali Sabherwal agree that a controlled diet — excluding unhealthy fats, processed food and sugars — complimented with focussed exercise, under supervision, may help one in developing the desired muscle tone over time.
Anushka's pins
We experienced the trend in scenes where she wore itsy bitsy shorts in her last Shah Rukh Khan-starrer. Actor Anushka Sharma has a thigh gap, which we are sure young girls admire especially when they dream of slipping into hot pants and skinny jeans.
The legs which sparked the trend
21 year old British model Cara Delevingne's legs are the torchbearers of the thigh gap obsession which is haunting social networking sites. There is even a Twitter ID dedicated to them. Bloggers showcase pictures of themselves following their weight-loss journey to attain the desired gap. This has made parental experts and counsellors see red, resulting in anti-thigh gap movements including Tumblr sites Touching Thighs and No Thigh Gap.
