As time has gone on, we’ve become increasingly fitness mad.
There was a time when we didn’t know any better, or just didn’t care, but now, almost everyone has a gym subscription chipping away at the bank account every month, and even more are aware of the dangers of eating some Southern Fried Chicken over a salad.
While the health gains fitness accrues are desired, they are often only an after thought, and not the main objective. Looking good in this age means that women have to be as small as possible without appearing anorexic, and men have to be as toned as possible, without being body builder big. Yet, being excessively ripped, and being anorexic, are both infinitely better than being obese.
“The skinny pressure” is so great that eating disorders are on the rise. Over the last decade, the number of girls being admitted into hospital suffering from anorexia has increased by 80% in the U.K according to the Telegraph.
The fitness craze hit full swing in the eighties. Several people followed Olivia Newton John’s advice in her pop hit, “Let’s Get Physical,” and got physical. The music video of the song spurred things along, as it showed men working out in a come hither, look-how-sexy-I-am-fashion that’s as compelling as it is disturbing, 30 years later. They looked to icons like Jane Fonda, who wrote work out books and exercise videos. Jane Fonda’s work out book, aptly titled Workout Book was on the New York Time’s bestseller list for the better part of a year. By 1986, her books and videos had sold 4 million copies.
Like most things American, it didn’t remain a strictly American phenomenon. It spread. Now it seems to have found a home in the rapidly developing third world, where people didn’t have the economic stability to be overly concerned about their waist lines.
In India, the fitness equipment market is growing at 18% per year. In Nigeria, women who once let themselves go the moment they got married because they felt that their looks had served their principal purpose, have turned to the gym and healthy eating habits to relieve them of the baby fat that never left. And the men, who once thought that abdominal obesity was a sign of good living and wealth have corrected their misconceptions and picked up a sport or two to get rid of their beer bellies.
The most recent fitness trend in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital is the morning walk or jog on its newest bridge, the Lekki- Ikoyi bridge.
The Lekki-Ikoyi bridge is West Africa’s first suspension bridge. Its 1.35 kilometre length is suspended from a 91 metre pylon. It is one of the city’s most remarkable architectural features. Men and women of all ages flock to the bridge on most mornings, sprinting, jogging, and cycling along it. It is provides a welcome change from the indoor activities most are used to. The bridge is more secure than several places in the city as it is guarded by the Rapid Response section of the Nigerian Police Force positioned at the head and foot at all times. This is probably why it is as popular as it is among the fitness aware who live around it.
While the jogging and walking activities on the bridge are certainly one of the most visible signs of the increase in fitness awareness in Nigeria, it isn’t the only one.
Fitness studios promising impressive results pop up every other day, magazines publish weight loss stories like there are no other stories, and celebrities praise the charismatic television jumping powers of Shaun T, the creator of the Insanity and the hip-hop abs workouts at every chance they get.
The question remains, do we applaud the West for bringing the gospel of fitness to Nigeria, or do we criticize the alterations to the “Nigerian” way of life that globalisation, Americanisation and Westernisation have brought.
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