Change in diet causing obesity rise, micronutrient deficiency: ATNI report

A combined 23 per cent of Indian adults can be classified as overweight or obese, according to a report by the Access To Nutrition Initiative (ATNI). The report states that a rise in rates of micronutrient deficiency has been caused by changes in consumer diets, including the prevalence of packaged food.

Citing multiple studies, the report pointed out the association between high consumption of highly processed foods and both low dietary diversity and inadequate intake of micronutrients, leading to deficiency and disease.

“A key feature of these dietary changes is the substantial increase in the consumption of highly processed foods in recent decades. This often displaces more traditional foods which involve less industrial processing, such as whole grains, and fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes,” the study claimed.

According to the ATNI study, between 2011 and 2021, India’s Ultra-Processed Food (UPF) sector grew at a compound annual growth rate of 13.37 per cent in retail sales value, representing 37 per cent of the overall processed food market.

“This increased consumption of processed packaged foods is prevalent throughout the Indian population, including economically poor and rural Indian consumers. Low-income families on average spend more than 90 per cent of their earnings on food items, of which 10-15 per cent is on highly-processed and packaged food, including chocolates, carbonated drinks and chips,” according to the report.

The report also highlighted a rise in micronutrient-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in India. Citing the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the report put the share of deaths due to NCDs in India increased from 38 per cent in 1990 to 66 per cent in 2019, with unhealthy diets as one of the major factors in this increase.

“Around 57 per cent of all adult women in India are suffering from anaemia caused by iron deficiency. India also has the second-largest load of diabetes patients at around 74 million adults,” the report stated.

The report also highlighted implications that NCDs have for the wider economy. “Anaemia alone is estimated to cost India $20.5 billion per year through lost worker productivity, equivalent to 0.7 per cent of GDP,” according to the ATNI study.

On obesity, the report estimates that the economic impact of the prevalence of overweighting costs the Indian economy 1.2 per cent of its GDP through healthcare costs, premature death, and absenteeism.