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Rakul Preet Singh on young girls suffering from food depression: 50% of them have anorexic or bulimic thoughts
Rakul Preet Singh opens up on the younger generation going through food guilt and depression, beauty standards set by actors and pressures in her profession
As she returned from her New Year’s vacation in London, actor Rakul Preet Singh put up her photo dump from the city with a caption that spoke about food guilt. As actors, with physical appearance being one of the factors determining your place in the industry, they have to watch what they eat with much more scrutiny. Thus, many a times, indulgence can lead to feeling a form of guilt.
Ask Rakul Preet Singh about it and she shares, “I've been dealing with this in my head for a while. I've always been into wellness, and I like the fit way of being. But having said that, there is a fine line before it can become your obsession, which has happened with me in the past. But I had to constantly tell myself that it's okay, you don't have to weigh yourself every day and that's not my validation. This is the first time I'm speaking about it.”
The actor adds, “I felt a lot of young girls will resonate with it. I think that was my major reason because it's not just about actors, but today in the day and age of social media, especially the Gen-Z and the younger generations, their validation comes from how they look online. It's all about how many likes there are on a picture. I was reading some report that so many young girls are bulimic or anorexic, and it led me to say that we all go through this guilt, and it's okay. There should be more open conversations as nobody talks about food depression that people have.”
Rakul admits that many young girls look at the physiques of female actors and get conscious. “The biggest gap is that all these young aspirational girls feel that actresses look wow when they look at their skin and body. They should know that it's a lot of work that goes in. Nobody's born like this. And we all worry about that one pimple, that'll come up before a shoot, it's human. 50% of young teenagers would either be thinking of anorexic or bulimic thoughts. And I feel we need to have more conversations about it.”
The actor also points out the changing priorities due to the expectations: “I have met young girls who are like there's a wedding and we need to lose five kgs. They'll stop eating, but you have to ask, is that wedding your priority or is it your life? I am not an expert to talk about it, but I feel definitely India is ready for more food experts to come in and talk about how young girls are going through this.”
But does she feel pressure from her profession in keeping up such appearances and meeting these high beauty standards? “I believe it depends on the kind of role that you're playing. If you are doing a glamorous role where you are supposed to look hot and sexy, then you have to look like that. Then I cannot say that people are judging me on my body. If I'm not doing justice to my role, then I am not doing justice to my job,” she says, countering, “As an actor, you're already putting yourself out there for scrutiny. So, you have to take it with a pinch of salt. And let me tell you, nobody is asking anybody to be extra lean or anorexic. You are just asked to be presentable, because obviously, it's the demand of your profession.”
