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Start fixing your diet this Poshan Maah
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Friday, 20 September, 2024, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashim Sanyal
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India is facing double challenge – co-existence of malnutrition and obesity or overweight. Even though over the years, India’s malnutrition rates have decreased, it still continues to have a high number of stunted and wasted children in the world. In 2022, 69% deaths in Indian children under the age of five (around 3.38 million children) were due to malnutrition and malnourishment according to a UNICEF report. On the other hand, in a latest study published in the Lancet shows that the 12.5 million children between the ages of five and 19 were overweight in 2022 compared to 0.4 million in 1990.
Keeping all this in mind, the government’s program Poshan Maah also known as the National Nutrition Month, which is celebrated every year in September, provides a comprehensive strategy towards improved nutrition. Poshan Maah is both a grim reminder on India’s state of nutrition among the most vulnerable people in the society and also of implementing interventions that impact nutrition outcomes.
According to GNR 2021 (Global Nutrition Report), an estimated 6.2% adult (aged 18 and above) women and 3.2% adult men in India are living with obesity. Meanwhile, diabetes is estimated to affect 9% of adult women and 10.2% of adult men. Most of these could be avoidable as they are linked to improper diets. Estimates show that 56% of India’s disease burden is due to unhealthy diet according ICMR report.
The increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods high in fats, sugar and salt aggravate nutrition deficiencies and also issues of overweight and diseases linked with it. There are ample evidences both in India and abroad that link consumption of ultra-processed foods to rise in NCDs like hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and even some forms of cancer. Marketing of these products and misleading advertisements are also responsible for influencing food choices both among adults and children. Even people living in remote and rural areas have easy access to these unhealthy packaged foods that are laden with sugar, salt and fats.
Fix your diet the simple way
One of the best practices to fix your diet and if you are eating right is by reading food lables which lists the content and lets the consumer know about all the ingredients. The ingredients are presented in descending order with the food item that has been used in highest quantity is stated first.
Simplicity is often the ultimate form of sophistication as people say. So having a front of pack-label on unhealthy packaged foods that is easy to understand will help curb consumption of unhealthy foods. A simple front of pack label on packaged foods will help people identify foods high in fats, salt and sugar. Front of pack label identifies unhealthy food and makes consumers stakeholders. If you want to fix your diet, as a consumer you should be aware of what you are consuming so that you can make an informed decision. Front of pack warning labels provide information about potential hazards associated with the product as they only take the nutrients of concern like fats, salt and sugar. It doesn’t confuse the consumers with positive elements which are added more as hogwash to minimise the dangers associated with the nutrients of concern which remain the same. India is under an escalating burden of rising incidences of nutrition related diseases and a simple and effective way to curb this now is through consumption of healthy foods.
With the change in eating habits among the population and easy accessibility of unhealthy packaged foods, it also calls for creating awareness on the health benefits of different types of food and their nutritional benefits. Poshan Maah provides us with this opportunity every year to refocus on the nutrition demands that keep changing in this world. We must diversify our food platter and include foods that keep both our minds and body healthy.
(The author is CEO at Consumer VOICE)
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