New Delhi, Aug 6: Public awareness coupled with government action is needed to curb unhealthy food practices which will then help fight the rising non communicable diseases like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, according to experts on Tuesday. India has been witnessing a significant rise in obesity, diabetes, and hypertension which have been driving various health problems majorly heart diseases, stroke, and cancers. A recent study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, showed that westernisation of diet characterised by increased consumption of processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats has contributed to the global rise in gut microbial vulnerability, chronic inflammation, and chronic diseases, affecting mainly the cardiovascular system, systemic metabolism, and the gut.
"Changing dietary patterns and eating more industrial food products is responsible for increasing obesity and diabetes and 56 per cent deaths in India," Arun Gupta, a paediatrician, and NAPi convener. He blamed it on the "seductive and misleading advertising" and called for "necessary stringent regulation to control the food industry which comes at the expense of a sicker population". Meanwhile, the study by researchers from the Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria discussed the links between diet and disease in the context of obesity and type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, gut and liver diseases, and solid malignancies.
They also argued that "healthcare professionals and.