Reader's Corner

I am a 22-year-old-girl, 5' 61/2" tall, weighing 65 kg. Most of my weight is on my hips and stomach. Am I overweight? What care should I take in my diet? I also want to know - do vegetables like French beans, lady's finger, brinjal, ashgourd, pumpkin, etc. have any nutrients? If yes, what are they? Is cheese better than butter? How much of meat and cheese can I consume so that I do not put on much weight? Please help and give me your expert opinion. Can you also suggest some simple exercises to tone my hips and stomach without resorting to the gym?

Considering your height and weight ratio, your weight is very much within the healthy range. You can take up abdominal exercises and workouts for the hip regions, to improve the muscular tone so that these areas do not look flabby. You need not worry about your weight at all.

All the vegetables you mentioned have varying but useful amounts of vitamins and minerals. They are a valuable source of dietary fibre, and also very good sources of health - promoting factors such as carotenoids, isoflavones and other phytochemicals. At the same time, most of them are low in calories.

Cheese is better than butter, as it is a rich source of first class protein - milk protein - although being high in fat content as well. On the other hand, butter is primarily fat, that too, saturated fat, the harmful fat. Cheese in moderation can definitely be a part of a normal person's diet - especially a vegetarian or for children who are fussy about taking milk. You can include cheese and non-vegetarian food (preferably chicken and fish) in your diet 2-3 times a week.