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The Independent
16-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
India rolls out health warnings for popular Indian street foods like samosas and jalebis
The Indian government is poised to roll out health warnings for beloved Indian snacks such as samosas and jalebis to highlight their hidden oil, sugar, and trans-fat content. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has identified 14 snack items, including popular Indian street snacks like samosas, pakodas (fritters), vada pav (a spiced potato patty sandwiched in a bread roll), and some varieties of biscuits, which will be accompanied by clear cautionary notices in cafeterias and public venues, according to a Times of India report. While some media reports stated that the food items itself would carry warning labels, the Union health ministry clarified in a statement that their advisory focused on 'display of boards' and was aimed as a 'behavioural nudge to make people aware about hidden fats and excess sugar in all food products and not specifically to any particular food product'. The initiative, which has already begun rolling out in cafeterias of state-run facilities like AIIMS Nagpur, comes amid growing concern over India's escalating lifestyle disease burden. Health experts, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Nutrition have reportedly backed the initiative, stating that it supports a larger effort to combat India's growing epidemic of non‑communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. 'It's the beginning of food labelling becoming as serious as cigarette warnings. Sugar and trans fats are the new tobacco. People deserve to know what they're eating,' cardiologist Dr Amar Amale, head of the Nagpur chapter of the Cardiological Society of India, told the Times of India. Dr Rajiv Kovil, head of diabetology at Zandra Healthcare, told IndiaTimes: 'These high-calorie snacks contribute to obesity, which is a gateway to numerous chronic conditions '. He added that they also lead to excessive calorie intake with minimal nutritional value, as well as worsen digestive problems, raise the risk of fatty liver and insulin resistance, and contribute to cognitive decline, mood disorders, inflammation, hormonal imbalance, and an overall weakened immune system. According to the International Diabetes Federation, over 77 million Indians live with type 2 diabetes, or roughly 9 per cent of adults, with diabetes-related complications accounting for nearly 2 per cent of all deaths annually. A Chennai-based study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that individuals consuming high levels of refined grains, like those used in samosas and jalebis, were nearly eight times more likely to develop metabolic syndrome, which includes risk factors such as high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and abdominal obesity. At the same time, the World Health Organization has flagged trans fats, a common component of Indian street foods, as responsible for over 77,000 cardiovascular deaths each year in India. However, the move has met with significant criticism from nutritionists who have argued that this campaign unfairly targets traditional Indian foods. Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, who has long championed indigenous food instead of Western alternatives, posted a message on her social media questioning why processed snacks continue to be eaten without warning. 'Tobacco is an independent risk factor. It harms irrespective of environment and lifestyle. There is ample proof of that. Samosa and jalebi ne aap ka kya bigada hai? ( What have samosas and jalebis done to deserve this?) If we are serious about health warnings – colas, chips, cookies etc. must get them first. Regulate and tax big food,' she wrote. 'Ultra-processed food products are the real problem. And there is ample proof of that, too,' Diwekar added in her caption. Milind Deora, MP, in a post on social media platform X noted that the Parliamentary Subordinate Legislation Committee is currently reviewing food regulator FSSAI's plans to tackle India's growing obesity crisis. 'We have unanimously advocated uniform regulations across all food categories, including alcohol, so Indian food isn't unfairly targeted while MNCs continue to market Western junk unchecked'. Former parliamentarian Milind Deora also criticised the government's focus in a post on X, formerly Twitter, urging a level playing field so that 'Indian food isn't unfairly targeted while MNCs continue to market Western junk unchecked'. Reactions from Indians have been mixed; while some see the warnings as overdue, others have questioned whether the signs will truly change eating habits or serve to stigmatise comfort foods. 'Let's also have them on packaged foods, processed foods, pizzas, burgers, cold storage meats, chips, soft drinks, etc?' wrote writer Kiran Manral. 'You don't eat jalebis and samosas for health. You indulge for delight unlike alcohol or cigarettes or pan masala. While former are indulgences (not necessarily healthy), they don't fit into the same category as products that require health warnings,' wrote a person on X.
Hans India
15-07-2025
- Health
- Hans India
State govt ready to roll out ‘TG Nutrition Plan' soon
Hyderabad: With an aim to have a nutritious Telangana, the government would soon be announcing a 'Telangana Nutrition Plan' to ensure healthy and nutritious food to the Anganwadi centers. Women and Child Welfare Minister Dhanasri Anusuya (Seethakka) said the government was working in a mission mode with the aim of building a nutritious Telangana. She called on everyone to participate in building a strong and healthy Telangana. She said that a nutritious Telangana would be possible only through collective efforts. She said that Telangana Anganwadi centers would be developed as a model for the country as per the ideas of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. She said that Anganwadi services will be further improved in line with the Telangana Rising-2047 document. A state-level meeting on strengthening Anganwadi services, improving nutrition among children, and participation of women self-help groups was organised by the Telangana State Women and Child Welfare Department. In this meeting, representatives of government sector organizations working on nutrition such as the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Indian Institute of Millet Research, CFTRI (Mysore), AIIMS, ICRISAT, UNICEF, voluntary organizations such as Pratham, Andhra Mahila Sabha, HARMAN, Bala Raksha Bharati, and senior officials of various welfare departments, civil supplies, education department, TG Foods, SERP, and I&PR departments, who were acting as line departments in providing nutrition, participated and shared their valuable opinions. After listening to their opinions, experiences, and ideas, Seethakka clarified that Telangana was the only state that provides 200 ml of Vijaya milk per day to Anganwadi beneficiaries, nutritious peanuts and cereal bars to teenage girls, and egg biryani twice a week. Seethakka said that based on the opinions and experiences of experts, an action plan for a nutritious Telangana would be formulated and implemented. She said that while the supply of nutritious eggs in Anganwadis in BJP-ruled states was stopped special programs were implemented in Telangana to provide nutrition to children, pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescent girls. She said that the issue of providing nutrition to all age groups was under consideration based on the advice of experts. She revealed that mobile Anganwadis would be introduced in areas where there was no construction facility. She said that organizations like NAAC and GEN NTU were preparing models.
NDTV
14-07-2025
- Health
- NDTV
Explained: What Are Sugar And Fat Boards? Why Is The Government Pushing Them In Indian Institutions
For many office-goers, tea breaks mean a plate of samosa, maybe a biscuit or two, and a soft drink on a stressful day. But now, a new government push could change the way you snack at work. The Ministry of Health has urged all central government offices to put up sugar and fat boards to help people make better food choices. These boards highlight the sugar and fat content in everyday snacks like jalebi, milkshakes, noodles and more. The aim is simple: create awareness in workplaces and encourage healthier eating habits. Why Are Sugar and Fat Boards Being Introduced in Government Offices? The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), through the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), has released posters that show the high levels of sugar and fat in common food items. These posters are designed for use in government canteens and public areas. The idea is to visually inform people about what they are eating. Offices like AIIMS Nagpur have already started putting these up, and more government offices are expected to follow. According to Amar Amale, President of the Cardiological Society of India's Nagpur chapter, "Sugar and trans fats are the new tobacco. People deserve to know what they are eating," quoted the Times of India. What Do These Boards Show and Why Does It Matter? The sugar and fat boards are simple, visual and informative. They list popular Indian foods like samosa, biscuits, pav bhaji, cold drinks, gulab jamun and more. Alongside each item, they show how much sugar and fat it contains. For example, one gulab jamun could carry more sugar than your daily recommended limit. Thanks to Hon'ble @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji's push for healthier workplaces, @MoHFW_INDIA has urged all govt offices to prominently display Sugar Boards. Sharing model Sugar Boards to display in offices. Tag us in your stories/posts Download: @ICMRDELHI — ICMR - National Institute of Nutrition (@ICMRNIN) July 8, 2025 Reducing fat intake can help reduce risk of obesity & NCDs. Here's how you can cut fat without even realising it! A step toward @PMOIndia @narendramodi ji's call for reducing edible oil by 10%. 📥 Download #FatBoard - @ICMRDELHI @MoHFW_INDIA @NITIAayog — ICMR - National Institute of Nutrition (@ICMRNIN) July 12, 2025 Experts say that seeing this information every day can help change habits. These boards act like small reminders to think before picking up that sugary or fried snack. What Experts Are Saying About Sugar, Fat and Indian Eating Habits In 2023, a video by Revant Himatsingka, also known as Foodpharmer, went viral. The video showed the amount of sugar in soft drinks and packaged juices. It reached over 25 million views. Revant had said, "Habits form at an early age, and if we have a lot of sugar as a kid, chances are we will crave sugar as an adult too." He had requested the government to display sugar boards in every public school. Dr Gourdas Choudhuri, Chairman-Gastroenterology, Fortis Gurgaon, said, "With regard to what is happening in our urban cities in India and percolating to villages as well, there is a huge explosion of what we call metabolic disorders related to lifestyle and eating. So the most common ones are weight gain (overweight or obesity), propensity for diabetes, hypertension, increased amount of blood lipids like cholesterol and triglycerides, and early onset of heart disease." Dr Choudhuri continued, "What has really gone wrong is the way we eat and the way we live. We are actually consuming far more calories, and that too, refined sugar and a lot of oils in fried foods. This piles up initially in the liver and then goes on to clot the arteries and increases the risk of heart disease. So, from that point of view, any attempt at creating awareness is a good idea." Consultant nutritionist Rupali Datta added, "The definition of junk food found in the Oxford dictionary is 'food that is not very good for you but that is ready to eat or quick to prepare'. Nutritionists define junk food as that which adds only calories from sugar and fat, with no other nutrients. Problems with this junk are that it is low in satiety, so one tends to binge eat, and hence it has started replacing healthy food made with nutritious fresh ingredients." What Can You Do With This Information? Start by reading nutrition labels before buying packaged items. The World Health Organisation recommends no more than 25 grams (about 5 teaspoons) of added sugar per day. Many soft drinks and sweets easily cross this mark. Similarly, our total fat intake should not be more than 30g per day (6 tsp). Swap sugary and oily snacks with healthier options like fruits, nuts, yoghurt or simply clean, homecooked food. Be aware of hidden sugars and oils in foods labelled as "healthy". You do not need to quit everything, but awareness can help you make better choices. Will People Stop Eating Laddoo or Pakora? Probably not. In India, food is emotional. We eat with tradition, memory and joy. A warning label is unlikely to stop someone from eating a festive mithai or a rainy-day samosa. But it may help people choose better when it comes to daily snacking, especially for kids, office goers and those depending on packaged food. This is not about guilt. It is about knowing what is in your food - and making small, informed changes over time.
Indian Express
14-07-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Health Ministry says canteen samosas will now get a food label, asks schools, offices to display boards on fat-sugar content
With the increasing incidence of obesity in the country — and associated increase in lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases, and some cancers — the health ministry has asked schools, offices, and public institutions to display boards with information on sugar and fat content of foods available in the canteen. 'We are proposing display of Sugar and Oil Boards as an initiative to promote healthier dietary habits in various settings. These boards serve as visual behavioural nudges…' says a letter from the union health secretary Puniya Salila Shrivastava to all ministries and government departments. What will the sugar and oil boards display? The letter provides with it sample templates of boards that are to be displayed at schools and workplaces. Designed by the apex food regulator, which has for years been trying to promote healthy eating, the oil board for example says that one should consume only around 27 to 30 gms of fat a day, along with pictures of snacks such as samosa, kachoris, and vadapav along with how much fat each of the foods contain. Similarly, the sugar boards also say that adults should not consume more than 25gms of sugar per day and children not more than 20 gms a day. It also shows the sugar content in products such as soft drinks, chocolates, gulab jamun, and flavoured juice. Some of the boards also have easy to understand graphics of the number of spoons of sugar that one can consume — 5 teaspoons, along with how many spoonfuls are there in different food products. It also has the option of providing details of the sugar content in foods available in the canteen on the day. The boards also contain nuggets of information such as 'jaggery, honey, date syrup, maple syrup, brown sugar, caramel, molasses are equally bad.' or 'sugar can be disguised as sucralose, mannitol, erythitol, xylitol, sorbitol'. What do the national nutrition guidelines say about sugar consumption? The guidelines developed by the ICMR's National Institute of Nutrition state that everyone should restrict their sugar consumption to less than 5% of their total energy requirements — which comes up to about 25gms or five teaspoons of sugars as mentioned above. Any loose sugar, honey, or other sweeteners is added sugar that adds on to what is already present in vegetables and fruits. 'If possible, added sugar may be completely eliminated from one's diet as it adds no nutritive value other than calories. Calories are healthy only when accompanied by vitamins, minerals, and fibres,' the guideline says. Natural sugars present in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products are not harmful, but these items should also be consumed in moderation as per one's energy requirements. Why is obesity a challenge in India? The letter from the union health secretary, quoting the Global Burden of Disease study, says that the number of obese and overweight adults in India is projected to increase from around 18 crores in 2021 to 44.9 crores by 2050. This will make India the country with the second-highest global burden. Additionally, many Indians tend to store fats in their abdominal region, making them prone to the ill-effects of obesity even at lower BMIs. This is because the abdominal fat is stored not under the skin but inside around organs, affecting their functioning. This type of fat is linked to higher risk of diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart attack, and stroke. Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government's management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country's space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University's Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor's Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More
Mint
06-07-2025
- Health
- Mint
ICMR to draft anti-obesity diet plan for Indians, plan related research
New Delhi: With India facing an obesity crisis, the Centre has tasked the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to come up with an ideal diet for Indians, and the body is expected to submit its recommendations shortly, two officials aware of the matter said. The urgent directive follows alarming findings by Lancet, the British medical journal, that projected a surge in overweight and obese adults in India from 180 million in 2021 to 449 million by 2050, when a third of the country's population will be obese. This trajectory places India as the country with the second-highest global burden of obesity after the US and China. The imperative to address obesity stems from its health and economic implications, given that it significantly elevates the risk of diabetes, hypertension and heart conditions, which in turn takes up healthcare costs and reduces productivity. As part of the plan, ICMR's National Institute of Nutrition is focusing on 'obesity-related health priority research' and 'actively tracking the nutritional status of the population," the first official said. The ICMR exercise is part of India's pushback against obesity, which includes the Centre's plan to roll out a nationwide screening programme for measuring obesity among schoolchildren. As reported by Mint earlier, schoolchildren will be measured for waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and Body Mass Index (BMI). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity is defined as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A government report reveals that unhealthy diets are responsible for 56.4% of the total disease burden in India. 'Obesity is increasing drastically. So, the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, hypertension, and heart conditions. Unhealthy diets, sedentary lifestyles, and environmental factors are key contributors to the rising prevalence of obesity, which is a huge concern now. Therefore, the government has asked the ICMR to prepare an ideal ant-obesity diet plan which ICMR is supposed to submit shortly to the health ministry,' said the first official aware of the matter. The ICMR's National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) in Hyderabad is a public health nutrition research organization that focuses on "obesity-related health priority research"—weighing implementation versus policy-based approaches—and tracks the nutritional status of the population. 'Obesity is a national priority now and growing. Our Prime Minister has been regularly talking about tackling it. Multiple things are on thecards. The plan is to conduct obesity-related health priority research and deliberations are still on whether it should be an implementation-based research or policy-based research. We are also identifying and regularly tracking the nutrition status of the people. The National Family Health Survey (NHF-5) 2019-21 data reflects obesity among women has risen tremendously, the same as men,' the second official said. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data from 2019-21 highlights this shift, showing that 24% of Indian women and 23% of Indian men are now overweight or obese. Disturbingly, 3.4% of children under five are also overweight. 'We are focusing on the problems of undernutrition. One thing that has always been neglected is that rural areas do not have obesity. Now, we are seeing the issues of non-communicable diseases and obesity in rural areas, too. Besides this, we are trying to track obesity in schools using some applications and advocating healthier options of food in schools,' the official said, adding that ICMR-NIN is promoting diet diversity and running an initiative to fix our food and create enabling food environments for adolescents. Dr Amrish Mittal, Chairman and Head of Endocrinology and Diabetes at Max Healthcare, Saket, emphasized that obesity itself is a disease, not merely excess weight. "Obesity is a predecessor of all the other conditions," he warned, explaining how rising obesity parallels increases in diabetes and blood pressure. 'Obesity is largely due to lifestyle changes, a high intake of refined carbohydrates, and a lack of protein and fiber in Indian diets,' said Mittal and called for a public health strategy that makes healthy options like milk, vegetables, and fruits more affordable than processed and packaged foods. "The ideal healthy meals on a plate should contain half a portion of vegetables, one quarter protein, and the one quarter has to be high fibre cereals," he advised. Mittal also linked the worrying rise in sudden cardiac arrests among young adults to unhealthy diets and poor lifestyles. Deeba Siddiqui, Senior Nutritionist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, stressed on the importance of limiting sugar, salt (to less than 5g/day), and ultra-processed foods. 'A healthy diet and physical activity can significantly cut the risk of coronary heart disease and hypertension, and prevent up to 80% of type 2 diabetes. Our diet should be 50% from fruits and vegetables," she said, advising vegetarians to include flax and chia seeds for essential nutrients and underscoring the need for hydration and careful label reading. Queries sent to the health ministry spokesperson and ICMR remained unanswered.
