She says, “Though I have developed a habit of staying and waking up late, I have been trying to work out at home. I am worried that I might regain my excess weight, so I have been following fitness tutorials on YouTube.”

As per Sunuwar, though she works out regularly, her diet has not been a healthy one and informs, “Since we cannot go out to have meals, I have been cooking my favourite dishes like momo at home. And at times when I feel too lazy to cook, I often find myself snacking on chips or noodles.”

Like Sunuwar, people across the nation are currently in confinement and during this period, people have either been working out less or following whatever exercise regime they can inside their homes or compounds.

On the other hand, over-eating and consuming processed and unbalanced food has also become a norm during this time.

Twenty-year-old Paruhang Subba shares that he has led somewhat of a ‘stagnant’ lifestyle since the lockdown started.

He says, “I gained almost five kilos during this lockdown and currently weigh 75 kg. I used to walk to and from my college everyday so I had my weight under control.”

He adds, “As I have been working from home and rarely exercise or go walk outside. I am worried that I will end up gaining more weight during this confinement period.”

As per Subba, he mostly spends his free time playing video games and rarely partakes in physical activities.

“I plan to start a home workout regime soon and hope I will give it continuity unlike other times when I lacked motivation and did not follow through on my plans and only worked out for a few days.”

Sunuwar and Subba, both being at a young age, share that they want to avoid being obese to maintain both health and enjoy a fit look.

Sunuwar points out, “It is summer and I usually love to go swimming during this time.

After the lockdown ends, I want to hit the swimming pool clad in my cutest swimming costume and it is important to look good in that. It makes me feel more confident.”

She adds, “I sometimes go on walks or do simple jumping jacks at home if I do not feel energetic enough to workout at home.”

For a healthy life

Dr Aruna Uprety, Public Health Specialist, shares that in urban cities of Nepal, consuming fried food and snacks instead of healthy food and drinking cold drinks instead of water has become popular leading to obesity in most of the people.

She shares, “Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important, more so during the lockdown as people tend to be engaged in limited physical activity while their eating habit is uncontrolled.

Gaining weight at a young age causes diabetes, kidney problems and high blood pressure. So it is important to watch what we eat and drink so that we can remain healthy in the long run.”

As per Uprety, ideally a person should exercise for at least 30 minutes a day and shares, “Consuming plenty of water, vegetables, fruits, yoghurt, nuts and traditional Nepali food items does not contribute to weight gain. However, people in urban areas have become couch potatoes and are eating processed food which are falsely advertised as being healthy when it fact, they are not.”

She adds, “People lay off eating healthy thinking they will exercise and shed the weight later, but once a person gains weight and becomes obese, it is difficult to shed it. Being obese means diminished immunity to fight diseases, so people should spend the lockdown eating healthy and exercising.”