NEW DELHI: Excessive use of social media, screen time, sedentary habits, and unhealthy food don’t just raise the risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases and certain types of cancer. The Economic Survey 2023-24 has warned that the lethal mix of these lifestyle-related factors that is highly prevalent among India’s working-age population also poses a threat to the country’s economic potential.
“For India’s working-age population to be gainfully employed, they need skills and good health,” the survey says, adding that the private sector has made substantial contributions to this toxic mix of habits.
The survey recommends Indian businesses embrace traditional lifestyle and recipes. “India’s traditional lifestyle, food and recipes have shown how to live healthily and in harmony with nature and the environment …it makes commercial sense for Indian businesses to…embrace them,” the survey says.
Nearly 56% of the disease burden in India is due to unhealthy diets, according to the latest dietary guidelines for Indians published by the Indian Council for Medical Research. The survey cites this data and says a surge in the consumption of highly processed foods laden with sugars and fat, coupled with reduced physical activity and limited access to diverse foods, may add to the crisis as it would exacerbate micronutrient deficiencies and overweight/obesity problems.
Excess weight and obesity, two common lifestyle problems that plague nearly 17% of India’s population, are costing the country 1.02% of its GDP, the World Obesity Federation and the RTI International had said in a report published in BMJ Global Health in 2022.
“For India’s working-age population to be gainfully employed, they need skills and good health,” the survey says, adding that the private sector has made substantial contributions to this toxic mix of habits.
The survey recommends Indian businesses embrace traditional lifestyle and recipes. “India’s traditional lifestyle, food and recipes have shown how to live healthily and in harmony with nature and the environment …it makes commercial sense for Indian businesses to…embrace them,” the survey says.
Nearly 56% of the disease burden in India is due to unhealthy diets, according to the latest dietary guidelines for Indians published by the Indian Council for Medical Research. The survey cites this data and says a surge in the consumption of highly processed foods laden with sugars and fat, coupled with reduced physical activity and limited access to diverse foods, may add to the crisis as it would exacerbate micronutrient deficiencies and overweight/obesity problems.
Excess weight and obesity, two common lifestyle problems that plague nearly 17% of India’s population, are costing the country 1.02% of its GDP, the World Obesity Federation and the RTI International had said in a report published in BMJ Global Health in 2022.