by A new global report has raised concerns about dietary habits in India, highlighting a significant increase in the consumption of unhealthy foods compared to nutritious options. More people in India eat unhealthy foods such as salty or fried snacks, compared to those who eat vegetables, fruits and other micronutrient-rich foods, the paper said.
Global food policy report 2024: Food systems for healthy diets and nutrition was released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on 29 May.
As a result of poor diet, 16.6 percent of the country’s population suffers from malnutrition, the report found.
Share of the population eating each of the five recommended food groups, salty or fried snacks, and no vegetables or fruit, 2021–2022
Source: 2024 World Food Policy Report
At least 38 percent of India’s population ate unhealthy foods, and only 28 percent ate the five recommended food groups, including at least one starch, one vegetable, one fruit, one pulse, nut or seed and one animal- food source.
Emerging trends in Indian diets
Consumption of such calorie-dense and nutrient-poor foods was not only high but also increasing, while consumption of vegetables and micronutrient-rich foods was low, the paper found.
In India and other South Asian countries, the consumption of processed foods (chocolate and sugar confectionery, salty snacks, drinks, ready-made and convenience foods, and breakfast cereals) is increasing. After cereals and milk, snacks and prepared foods made up the majority of Indian food budgets.
In India, the percentage of the population suffering from malnutrition increased from 15.4% in 2011 to 16.6% by 2021. This means that almost 17% of the average food consumption of the Indian population was insufficient to meet the levels of dietary energy required to active living and a healthy life.
The prevalence of overweight among adults increased from 12.9% in 2006 to 16.4% in 2016.
According to the report’s analysis of data from a large nationally representative household panel, India’s total annual household spending on meals paid for away from home increased from Rs 619 billion ($8.8 billion) in 2015 to Rs 820 billion ($11.6 billion) in 2019, an increase real term of about $3 billion.
Similarly, the share of packaged foods (highly processed and calorie dense) in family food budgets almost doubled during this period, to 12 percent from 6.5 percent.
Wealthier families spent a larger share of their food budget on processed foods. However, it was not clear whether increased spending on prepared and ultra-processed foods is crowding out the consumption of healthier foods such as fruit and vegetables.
Share of urban household food budgets spent on processed foods and purchased meals, by per capita consumption expenditure, India
Source: 2024 World Food Policy Report
Many countries faced the double burden of malnutrition, the report highlighted. This means that undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies coexist with overweight and obesity, or non-communicable diet-related diseases (NCD), within individuals, families and communities and across the lifespan.
More than two billion people, many of them in Africa and South Asia, cannot afford a healthy diet, according to the research. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, more than half of children under the age of five and two-thirds of adult women were affected by micronutrient deficiencies.
As a result, high levels of undernutrition (wasting and wasting) and micronutrient deficiencies have increased, even as the prevalence of overweight, obesity and related NCDs has increased in South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Cheaper calorie-dense foods
In the South Asian region, the report showed that micronutrient-rich foods were expensive, but grains, fats and oils, sugar, and sugary and fatty snacks were relatively cheap.
South Asia had the highest cost premium — that is, the additional cost for the least-cost nutrient-adequate diet over the lowest-cost source of calorie sufficiency.
For example, dark green leafy vegetables and vitamin A-rich fruit and vegetables cost 22 times more per calorie than starchy staples and twice as many calories per sugary and fatty snack. In addition, calories from fats and oils and sugar cost even less than those from staples in India and other South Asian countries.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently issued dietary guidelines warning that the information presented on packaged food may be misleading.
Among the 17 dietary guidelines, the ICMR asked consumers to read information on food labels to make informed and healthy food choices. He also recommended minimizing the consumption of high-fat, sugar, salt and ultra-processed foods.
Cereal-centric agricultural and food policies
Agricultural and food policies in South Asia, like many other developing countries, continue to prioritize the affordability of starchy staples over the varied diets required for long-term health. Growers of rice, wheat and sugar, for example, are eligible for price guarantees in India. Similarly, rice farmers in Sri Lanka have preferential access to subsidized fertilizer.
“This trend also includes public investments in agricultural research and development, which prioritized improving the productivity of rice and wheat, while neglecting coarse grains and pulses,” he said.
Co-authored by 41 researchers representing IFPRI and several partner organizations, the report called for urgent and concerted efforts to transform global food systems to ensure equitable access to healthy, sustainable diets for all.
“GFPR 2024 is a clarion call to prioritize healthy, sustainable diets as a cornerstone of public health and sustainable development,” said Johan Swiinnen, Director General, IFPRI and managing director, system transformation for agricultural innovation network global CGIAR.
The experts emphasized the importance of prioritizing the improvement of diets as a critical entry point to address all forms of malnutrition and diet-related NCDs.
“Evidence suggests that poor quality diets are the leading cause of disease worldwide and that one in five people could be saved by improving diets,” said Deanna Olney, director of IFPRI’s nutrition, diets and health unit. and lead author of the report.
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