Advocacy group Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi ) has written to actor Amitabh Bachchan asking him immediately dissociate his support to “a high sugar drink product for children, which is advertised as a nutritional food powder that helps in balancing the child’s nutrition”.
“It is quite shocking to see Amitabh...agreeing to support brand building of this sugary product,” said the letter.
It said, “Hundred grams of a popularly advertised pack of this drink [Horlicks Delight] contains 78g of carbohydrates, of which 32 g is sucrose sugar.” For a country that is facing the dual pressure of malnourishment and rising obesity in children, this could prove a challenge, warned NAPi.
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“Amitabh’s association with Horlicks can be harmful. High sugar foods/ beverages should be prohibited for children. Sugar has no nutritional value whatsoever and causes no feeling of satiety. Aside from being a major cause of obesity, there is increasing evidence that added sugar increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and fatty liver,” said British cardiologist Aseem Malhotra.
Amitabh had in 2014 renounced his association with Pepsi based on the health implications it has on children.