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And then she returned to her middle-class home in New Delhi, India’s capital, and started a

neighborhood beauty parlor. It was an instant success, and it emboldened her – with thecanny assistance of her swarthy but handsome husband Mukesh – to start VLCC.

“I like to think that I seamlessly married scientific slimming programs with cutting edgeskin and hair treatments,” Ms. Luthra said. “This was at a time when the Indian market was

still nascent and the concept of combining fitness and beauty, as an approach to holistic

wellness, was a completely new paradigm.”

What was it about that paradigm that made her want to bring it to the United Arab

Emirates?

“It made eminent sense to look at the Middle East market as our first overseas foray, given

that obesity in this region is rated as being amongst the highest in the world. In the UAE

specifically, more than 60 percent of the population is either overweight or obese,” Ms.

Luthra said. “Secondly, after a detailed study of several countries in the region, we decidedto make the UAE as the base for our expansion in the Middle East on account of its highly

investor friendly environment and its ideal location as an entrepôt for the region.”

Ms. Luthra makes another point about health and fitness that wouldn’t be ordinarily

associated with a purveyor of slimming centers – the link between personal health and

 personal finance.

“To my mind, there is indeed a direct link between personal health and personal finance or 

rather personal health and the ability to manage personal finance,” she said. “A healthy population is an active population that contributes directly to the long-term economic

 prosperity of a nation. And, completing the cycle, a prosperous nation contributes directlyto the prosperity of its populace. Ergo, if personal health is good, personal finances too will be great!

“On the flip side is the fact that individual prosperity, without a healthy and disciplined

lifestyle, very often leads to deterioration of personal health -- most often linked to gainingof weight if not outright obesity -- and that is the danger individuals and nations as a whole

must always be conscious of,” Ms. Luthra continued. “Obesity and overweight pose a

major risk for serious diet-related chronic diseases, including adult-onset Type Twodiabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer. The

health consequences range from increased risk of premature death, to serious chronic

conditions that reduce the overall quality of life. The collective impact has massive publichealth consequences, as is being currently experienced in the United States and Britain.”

Vandana has worked painstakingly to help the slimming, beauty and wellness industry berecognized as an organized sector industry; setting quality standards, benchmarking

services and customer satisfaction while employing top-of-the-line technology and

applications. Her endeavors have been towards placing the Indian fitness and beauty

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industry at par with those of the most advanced countries internationally. In recognition,

the Government of India has appointed her as a member on the Special Task Force for 

Empowerment of Women. Most recently, she has has been listed as one of the 100 most powerful Indians in 2009 by Indian Express.

The ethic of sharing and teamwork is intrinsic to Vandana’s philosophy of life, whether itis with members of her own profession or with society at large. Hence, she is very active in

 partnering with the medical profession in the drive against health problems caused by

obesity. To this end, she has set up the Anti-Obesity Foundation to encourage scientific

research on obesity. The Foundation also raises awareness about the fact that obesity is amedical problem and is fast becoming a public health hazard in India.

She is also a keen educationist and a social worker. She spends a lot of time with youngenthusiasts who wish to make their careers in the ever-expanding Health, Fitness and

Beauty industry. As part of her philanthropic efforts, she actively helps the underprivileged

and the physically challenged by providing them scholarships for free education. She was

also recently appointed as a trustee of the National Children’s Fund, constituted by theGovernment of India under the aegis of the Ministry for Women & Child Development.

Vandana Luthra represents a movement for a healthy lifestyle, which is gainingmomentum the world over at a very rapid pace.

2.3. Can Vandana make the link between personal health and personal finance? How does

 better health make a person more economically productive?

4. What are the advantages of being in the UAE?That indeed would be a long list! To name a few, its investor friendly environment, itsgreat cosmopolitan cultural and social environment, outstanding infrastructure and the

warm and welcoming nature of Emiratis.

5. How does vandana find dealing with Emiratis, and how did she help in establishing National Obesity Week?

As I said earlier, I have found Emiratis to be warm and welcoming. Their respect for 

women is particularly noteworthy. And I do find it most heartening to see women holdingoffice at some of the most important positions in the land. For me this is personally

significant, given that women comprise over 75% of VLCC's employee base of 8,500.

As regards the Anti-Obesity Day, a property which VLCC conceived and created 9 years

ago, it is an acknowledged fact that Obesity is a silent killer and VLCC has taken upon

itself the task of spreading awareness about not just the health risks involved but also about

the psychological and social effects of Obesity. Every year, VLCC observes 26th November as the Anti-Obesity Day and holds various social awareness programs/ health

camps / Free Body analysis etc. across UAE, Oman, Bahrain, India and Nepal, through a

 public-private partnership effort.

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Pranay Gupte,Senior Writer and Global-Affairs Columnist

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