India’s new urban worry — rising overnutrition, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• Study shows 84% of IT employees in Hyderabad have Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD).
• India now ranks second globally in overweight/obesity prevalence (2021), especially in urban metros and tech corridors.
• Overnutrition is growing alongside undernutrition, revealing a paradoxical nutritional crisis.
• WHO reports 74% of global deaths in 2019 were due to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs); India is increasingly vulnerable.
• Workplace-based health screenings, initiatives like “Eat Right Challenge”, and 8 km health walks are being promoted.
• Government measures include:
  • Health Star Rating (HSR) on food packages
  • Supreme Court directive for FSSAI to improve scientific food labeling.
  • India’s National Family Health Survey-5 shows rising obesity trends: 32% in wealthy vs. 7% in poor women.
• Saudi Arabia’s sugar-tax based model cited as a best practice.

Detailed Insights:

• Overnutrition and its linked disorders like obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and MAFLD are escalating due to poor dietary habits, physical inactivity, and fast food dependency.
• Disrupted circadian rhythms in tech sector workers and sedentary digital lifestyles are key contributors.
• Childhood obesity also rising rapidly: Lancet study projects 450 million obese Indians by 2050.
• India's nutrition strategy is hampered by:
  • Food industry lobbying
  • Poor consumer awareness
  • Easy availability of ultra-processed foods
• The crisis demands a shift from just awareness to legislated food labelling, sugar taxes, urban design for physical activity, and multi-sectoral behavioural interventions.

Scientific/Technical Concepts Involved:

• MAFLD (Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease): A chronic liver condition marked by fat accumulation due to poor diet and metabolic imbalance.
• Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR): Indicator of fat distribution; a critical non-invasive marker for predicting cardiovascular and metabolic risk.
• HSR (Health Star Rating): A front-of-pack nutrition labeling system indicating overall nutritional profile to help consumers make informed choices.
• Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs): Chronic diseases not spread by infection (e.g., diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease), driven by lifestyle factors.

Significance:

• Overnutrition is no longer a “rich-country” problem; its urban spread in India could severely impact productivity, healthcare burden, and India’s demographic dividend.
• Ignoring this issue threatens not just health outcomes but also economic growth, with spiraling costs from non-communicable diseases.
• A multi-stakeholder and regulatory-led approach is necessary to reverse the trend, alongside efforts to reshape consumer behaviour.

Mains Mock Question:

Discuss the dual burden of malnutrition in India with emphasis on the rising crisis of overnutrition in urban areas. Suggest policy measures to address this emerging public health challenge.