29 Jul No Obese Please
In 2007 Malta won first place! Unfortunately it was in an obesity contest, where the Maltese hit the highest average measure of body fat (BMI) in Europe. During the same year, another study found that 20% of all Maltese children aged between 5 and 6 years are also overweight, whilst 14% are downright obese.
A child who is obese at the age of 10 is many times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes before turning 40, so why do many still think that a chubby child is a healthy child?
Sara Tanti Bellotti is 15 years old. For most of her life, she’s been obese, endured a myriad of limitations because of her weight, and ended up the subject of bullies at school. Last year she decided to put a stop to it and managed to lose 30kg in less than 11 months.
Alison Bezzina met up with Sara and her mother Carmen, to find out what finally triggered this change.
“Up until the age of five, Sara was a skinny and almost frail child,” recalls Sara’s mother. “She seemed to be permanently suffering from colds or the flu, and felt consistently under the weather.”
It turned out that Sara had problematic adenoids and had to undergo surgery. After the operation Sara’s parents saw their little, almost feeble girl, transform into something else.
“She shot up,” explains Carmen with a sparkle in her eyes. “She started growing at an alarming rate and by the age of seven, when her First Holy Communion came along, it was difficult to find a dress that fit her well, as she was so much taller and bigger than girls her age,” she recalls humorously.
It took a few years for Sara to realise that she was different. In fact, up until the bullying started, she was not at all bothered with the way she looked. “I don’t think Sara was conscious of her size,” says Carmen. “From a very young age she had to struggle to keep up whenever we went out for a walk. Her father and I were always worried about her general health, and we always knew that she needed to slow down on her food intake, but on the whole, she was always a very happy go lucky child, unperturbed with her appearance.”
At school Sara used to have to sit on particular desks in the classroom in order not obstruct the other girls’ view of the blackboard. P.E. lessons were also particularly challenging because her size and fitness constantly got in the way. “I was limited,” she confesses.
“There were many exercises that I could not do, and games that I could not play or was no good at. When I got to year 6, at the age of around nine or ten, some children started to pick on me. Kids can be really cruel because they uncannily pick on your weakest point and isolate you. I spent about three or four years feeling lonely and keeping pretty much to myself. I never told my parents about this as I felt that I could handle it on my own, and though some teachers realised what was going on, they never did anything about it. I’m convinced that some of them purposely chose to ignore it,” adds Sara sadly. “I’m not stupid,” Sara asserts, still with a sad smile on her face. “I always knew what was going on, but it’s not in my character to be rude back. I used to stand up for myself when I needed to but never offended or insulted anyone. That’s just not who I am.”
“I never knew that any of this was going on,” adds Carmen. “Sara is very responsible and never refused to go to school, so I had no way of knowing what she was going through. Even her grades remained high, so honestly we had no clue.”
“At the age of twelve, I finally found a few friends whom I could trust,” explains Sara. “We are still friends till this very day, and I can’t even start to explain how much I appreciate their loyalty. We stick up for each other no matter what, and because we are so close the bullies who used to pick on me finally stopped and left me in peace.”
One day Sara was looking at some photos of herself, and it suddenly hit her that her weight had exceeded the limit. “I realised that I needed to do something about it, if not for anything else, for the sake of my health. I had tried to lose weight a few times before, but I don’t think I was ever determined enough. This time, once again, I was going to try to do it alone, so I asked my parents to buy me a treadmill, but they were convinced that I would use it a couple of times and then let it rot, so they adamantly refused. I fought tooth and nail for it, but they did not give in, and instead they tried to enrol me into a gym.”
“We tried many places,” explains Carmen, “but every gym in Malta had an over 16 policy, which basically excluded Sara since she was only 13 at the time. Finally we heard about a brand new gym which catered specifically for children. We couldn’t believe our luck because not only had we finally found what we were looking for, but it was also situated in our hometown, Pembroke, which is also where Sara’s school is.”
“I started off with a bang,” says Sara. “It was just the right time, and I felt like some sort of energy inside me had been switched on. When I found out that The Spinach Fitness Club provides exercise programs for children between the ages of 5 and 15, there was no turning back, and couldn’t wait to get started. I was one of the club’s very first members, and although it was hard at first, this time I was determined to change,” says Sara.
Carmen accompanied her daughter to the gym, every day for the first two months. Then, when she was finally convinced that the place provided good supervision and that ambience was adequate for children, she started to allow Sara to attend the gym by herself.
“I trained at least five times a week. Every day after school I’d walk straight to the gym, carrying my school bag and my gym bag all the way across Pembroke’s rocky coast. During the first month, my trainer set me up on a cardiovascular program. It was hard, I have to say. I suffered from shortness of breath, and I had aches and pains everywhere, but somehow I put mind over matter and stuck to it. The trainer was great. Whenever I was tired he’d encourage me to go on, and to push myself that little bit more. I started to lose weight right from the first week which was very motivating, and by far more than I had ever achieved before.”
Carmen recalls that throughout her childhood, Sara had tried many different diets. From soup diets, to no sweets diets, but they all turned out to be unsustainable. This time, instead of trying to stick to a regimental diet, her trainer gave her some tips on what to avoid. “Somehow what he said left an impression on Sara,” explains Carmen, “and she took his tips very seriously.”
“I did not count my calories,” explains Sara. “I simply avoided the food which my trainer told me to.
“In the past, whenever I tried to slip some fruit in her lunch bag, she’d bring it back and use her pocket money to buy chocolate from the tuck shop,” says Carmen. “All that has changed now,” she adds, “we all changed our eating habits in fact. We drastically reduced the amount of bread that we used to consume, and now most meals consist of protein and vegetables. We’re very proud of Sara’s improvement and want to support her all the way,” adds Carmen.
“I used to eat a whole loaf of bread every day,” admits Sara, “and I was always snacking between meals.”
“She used to expect her portion of pasta to be as big as her dad’s,” recalls Carmen “but now she hardly ever eats pasta, and whereas before she would have eaten four buns of bread for her school lunch and more when she got back home, today she only takes one sandwich at most. We always knew she was a determined girl, but we also knew how hard it is for anyone, let alone a child, to lose weight. She’s really a hero in our eyes. We are happy that her appearance has improved, but of course, we’re ecstatic that her health prospects are so much better now,” continues Carmen, delighted with her daughter’s progress.
“I had to give away most of my clothes,” Sara adds with a smirk. “Within a few weeks all my trousers and jeans just started to fall off me, and now tops are too baggy to be used other than as PJs.”
When asked whether the bullies have stopped with their antics, Sara quietly explains that although they did not acknowledge her weight loss, they stopped trying to ridicule her. “When I went back to school, after the last summer holidays, I had already lost a lot of weight, and I am sure that they had noticed the difference in the way I looked. Some even commented to friends of mine, but none of them ever said anything to my face. They are too proud I know, but I’m just glad that they have stopped with the abuse. I’m sure that I was an easy target before, because apart from my weight, I never liked to get into trouble just to look cool with my peers. So they picked on me because of that character trait as well.”
Sara’s PE teacher noticed the difference too, and last year graded her much higher than usual in her annual assessment. “I have now lost 30kg,” Sara exclaims. “It has become a bit difficult to lose more weight, but that’s not my top priority any more. This is now my way of life, and I will keep it up for health and fitness reasons. When I look back at photos from my past, I can hardly believe that I’m looking at the same person. I’ve changed so much, and thankfully I’ve also changed my mind set too. I can now concentrate on my future, my studies, and the love of my life which is art, as it helps me express my feelings and thoughts. I would love to be an artist or an arts’ teacher when I grow up.”
When asked to describe the best part of her transformation, Sara giggles and says, “I’ve done a painting and donated it to The Spinach Club. It’s the best way I know how to thank them for their help and making this change possible. Let’s just say that whereas before I used to feel breathless whenever I climbed a few steps even at a snail’s pace, I now skip, hop and run up every flight of stairs I see!”
First published in Pink Magazine July 2010- to see full feature click here
