ARE YOU POISONING YOU KID?

India is in the grip of a public health crisis. Non-communicable diseases are skyrocketing, with 1 in 4 Indians now suffering from diabetes, much of it linked to obesity. The surge in NCDs is driven by the consumption of junk foods, which are aggressively marketed and high in sugars, salt, and saturated fats. These unhealthy diets are leading to diabetes, cancers, heart diseases, and premature deaths.

The need of the hour, the need of our children are:

1. Ban Food Industry influence in Policy Making excluding the food industry from policy development, similar to tobacco regulations, to prevent conflicts of interest.

2. Set Nutrient limits establishing strict thresholds for sugars, salt, and fats in foods immediately. This will help in categorizing foods that need warning labels or higher taxes. The study on 43 pre-packaged food products found that all exceeded the nutrient of concern thresholds, with high sugars, fats, and sodium.

3. Implement clear Front-of-Pack Labels (FOPL) making it mandatory on all junk foods, coming out clean about the unhealthy nutrient levels.

4. Enforce marketing restrictions. Ban junk food ads targeting children and prohibit TV advertisements during prime viewing times. Stop junk food sponsorships in schools. If Tobacco is banned by COTPA why not these??

5. Impose high taxes on Junk Foods, similar to "sin taxes" on sugary drinks.

6. Promote affordable Healthy Foods and remove subsidies from the junk food industry. Unfortunately with the Millet incentives, Brands are rather turning the wrong way and increasing price tags on Millet based snacks!

7. Strengthen Consumer Protection Laws. Let us fight our battle atleast!

8. Accelerate National Action Plans. Fast-track the implementation of the National Multi-sectoral Action Plan (NMAP) and focus on primary prevention.

9. Form a United Front. Build a coalition of civil society, consumer groups, and public health experts to educate the public on the dangers of junk food and counter industry tactics.

India must act decisively to curb junk food consumption and tackle the NCD epidemic. The time for strong action is now—lives depend on it.

Inspiration, Excerpt & Source-

The Junk Push report- Rising Ultra-processed Food Consumption in India Policy, Politics and Reality

Authors: Dr. Arun Gupta | Nupur Bidla | Reema Dutta

Courtesy- https://www.napiindia.in/