NAPi Calls For Junk Food Action In Election Manifestos (image-pixabay)
In a move aimed at addressing the escalating health crisis associated with the consumption of junk food, the Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest-India (NAPi) has taken a significant step by reaching out to various political parties in India. Comprising a coalition of independent medical experts, paediatricians, and nutritionists, NAPi has penned letters to political entities, urging them to incorporate concrete measures in their manifestos to curtail the consumption of unhealthy food products.
The think tank emphasises the urgent need for legislative actions to mitigate the impact of high sugar, salt and fat (HFSS) food items on public health, particularly among children and youth. NAPi has advocated for the implementation of warning labels on HFSS products and the imposition of reasonable restrictions on the advertising of junk foods. In the letter, these proposed measures are viewed as critical safeguards against the increase of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, cancers, depression, and mental health issues.
Dr. Arun Gupta, Convener of NAPi, underscored the key role of political, emphasizing the importance of manifestos reflecting a commitment to safeguarding public health through legislative reforms targeting the consumption of unhealthy foods.
The initiative by NAPi comes on the heels of alarming statistics highlighting the escalating prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and health conditions in India. Citing data from the Indian Council of Medical Research-India Diabetes (ICMR-INDIAB) survey published in The Lancet, the organization underscored the urgent need for intervention, with prevalence rates of diabetes, pre-diabetes, hypertension, and obesity reaching alarming levels.
Highlighting the insidious role of aggressive marketing tactics employed by the food industry, NAPi highlighted the urgent need for policy interventions to counteract the rising effects of unhealthy dietary practices. Dr. Vandana Prasad, Community Pediatrician, Public Health Resource Network (PHRN), and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, along with other experts, stressed the efficacy of policy measures such as advertising bans and health warnings on food packaging, drawing inspiration from successful interventions in the Latin American region.
NAPi”s outreach extends beyond political parties to include MPs across the political spectrum, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh, former Union Health Minister Dr. Harshvardhan and others. The Indian National Congress leaders include Shashi Tharoor, P. Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, regional parties like the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) Derek O’Brien and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK) Kanimozhi, Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Supriya Sule are some of the people who have received the letters.
As of yet, only Supriya Sule has acknowledged the letter.
NAPi also quoted a survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research – India Diabetes (ICMR-INDIAB), published in the Lancet, wherein diabetes among adults over 20 years accounted for 11.4 percent, hypertension 35.5 percent, generalised obesity 28.6 percent, abdominal obesity 39.5 percent and hypercholesterolemia was 24 percent.
