India Spending Billions on Fast Food – Reported By ATNI

Context: According to a recent report by global nonprofit Access To Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), Indians are eating a growing amount of fast food. 

What are the Key findings of report?

• Rise in Obesity: About 23% Indian adults can be classified overweight or obese.
• Rise in Micronutrient Deficiency: Changes in consumer diets, including prevalence of packaged food, fast food, etc. are to be blamed for a rise in micronutrient deficiency. 
• Increasing Consumption of Ultra Processed Food: According to World Health Organization (WHO) report, the total volume of ultra processed food that India consumes has increased by more than 90% since 2011. 
• Fig. 1: The growth rate of ultra processed foods  is similar to that of essential foods where volume is up 106% in the same period

• Fig 2: Four out of five categories under consideration would see over 1 trillion in sales, with chocolates and sugar confectioneries topping the list. 

• According to a 2023 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), obesity and non-communicable diseases caused by unhealthy diet are causing labour productivity losses in hundreds of billions of dollars and India is third among 154 countries ranked on estimated losses related to unhealthy dietary patterns. 
• Fig. 3: The cost to India was $669 billion on a purchasing power parity basis considering 2020 values. The United States’ cost was highest, followed by China.

Also Read: Nutrient Deficiency

News Source: Bussiness Standard