Taking fitness to desperate housewives
Change Investigators ; To get more converts among women, fitness industry needs a large dose of sensitivity, says Rajeev Sharma
Rising affluence in India, has sparked the trend to plumposity. But unlike the global fitness industry, which thrives on married women with the time and inclination to get back into shape, in India, it is predominantly men or single women who come across as fitness converts. So how is the fitness culture affecting housewives ? Leo Burnett Change Investigators interviewed homemakers between the ages 25 - 40 to understand where they figured in India's fitness revolution.   Bhabi to babe : Most women we met admitted to being figure - conscious. And they have reason to be. Along with their traditional roles of wife, mother and bahu, they've become important social partners for their husbands. The need to appear contemporary also causes more women to aspire for western wear, which is unkind to flabby figures.   99% inspiration, 1% perspiration : Despite the desire to keep fit, an exercise culture is still largely lacking. Quizzed on their exercise regime, answers varied from "I never take the lift in my building" to "I walk to drop my kids to school". Some women claimed to have matched yoga steps with TV yoga programmes. Clearly, rather than sweat out extra kilos, most Indian women are seeking to undo their gains without pains.   Eat healthy, shrink better : Food control is the preferred way of maintaining oneself, Problem is, there are far too many things to tempt the palate. As one housewife plaintively said, "Now-a-days its not just dal-chawal. There is Chinese, Thai and Italian too!" Moms also have to finish meals left half-eaten by kids. Their ingenious solution is to keep menus largely unchanged, but switch to healthier processes and ingredients. So they still eat cheese sandwiches but using brown bread; make dosas on non-stick pans and shallow-fry instead of deep-frying. Sprouts and salads are still rare, but low-cal snacks like diet khakras are snapped up.   Gymnasiums conspire against women : Many women find gyms insensitive to their needs. Discomfort factors included bulky weights and unisex exercise floors. Like one woman explained, "Out-side I wear saris or 'Punjabi' dresses, but here I'm in a tracksuit. So, I feel conscious with men around." Most agreed that lack of a disciplined regimen allowed easy bunking of daily exercise, But many women are staying away from gyms because of female-unfriendly environs and exorbitant cost.
Where next ? Opening the floodgates of female fitness would require sensitivity, rather than the testosterone orientation of the fitness industry. Here are there areas with potential.
Only-women gymnasiums : The average Indian woman conditioned to believe in sharam as virtue, dislikes bumping into men when she's exercising. In small town America, a Texas-based company called Curves has built a flourishing business around women's fitness clubs by customizing everything from gym layout to machines (no weights) that need no complex adjusting, to suit women gym-goers. So the machines are arranged, not linearly but in a circle, for
easy chatting and mutual support - and there are no men around to stare you down. Juice bars, steam, sauna are dispensed with to bring the cost down to a fraction of upmarket gyms. Any takers for a national no frills women's gym operation?   Guild-free snacking : Most women claimed that exercising control during mealtime was only partially effective. Their tendency to nibble between meals, along with the craving for sweets was what made weight loss so exasperating. So substituting evil snacks with good ones is the smarter solution. Greater variety in branded, regional low-oil snacks, such as chivda and murukku would be welcome. As would cookable versions of low calorie sweeteners - such as Zero, a zero-cal sweetener that's made from sugar but without the calories, and can be used in cooking, unlike conventional sugar substitutes.   Think slim, eat out : So far, all attempts at health restauranting have attempted to peddle esoteric western fare like soups, salads and sandwiches to weight-conscious consumers, limiting their appeal to niche audiences. How about an Indian chain of healthy eateries catering to local tastes in foods and deserts ?   Clearly, as emerging societal forces drive homemakers towards the need to stay slim and fit, there will be opportunities for fitness marketers to profit from providing them with innovative aids to lose those extra inches.   (The author is the national brand planning director of Leo Burnett India)