Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad   

Expert blames corporate sector for increasing obesity

HYDERABAD: President of the Public Health Foundation of India Prof. K. Srinath Reddy has accused the corporate sector of engineering food to a new concept level of “eatertainment” and adding to the obesity problem in the society.

Delivering the 33rd Gopalan Oration Award lecture on “Public Health Nutrition in India: Moving from Science to Policy and Action” at the 41st national conference of the Nutrition Society of India (NSI) here on Friday night he observed that time had arrived where nutrition was required to take the shape of public health like medicine to make people better conscious of nutrition.

The corporate sector was cashing in on the availability of higher food and increased income levels of even lower middle class families by effecting behavioural changes in the matter of food intake.

He attributed the increasing problem of obesity in children in the past few decades to such tactics being adopted by the corporate sector to make people consume higher quantities of junk food.

Studies in the developed societies like US too had indicated that the tricks of corporate sector to influence the behavioural changes pertaining to food and nutrition. Quoting one such study Prof. Srinath Reddy said people had shown interest in buying larger packs of food products than smaller packs.

Economic progress of society had also its impact on obesity as the per capita consumption of edible oils in India had doubled in 2003 compared to 1983.

Director of National Institute of Nutrition B. Sesikeran, president of NSI V. Prakash, Director of Nutrition Federation of India Prema Ramachandran were also present.

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