The report highlights that rising UPF consumption is damaging public health, fuelling chronic diseases, and worsening inequalities.
- UPF consumption in India saw a 40 fold increase from 2006 to 2019.
Indian Initiatives to curb UPF consumption:
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What is UPF?
- They are heavily industrially processed foods high in fat, sugar, and salt, containing additives like emulsifiers, colours, and artificial flavors.
- They include items like noodles, biscuits, chips etc. designed to be hyper-palatable and highly marketed.
- Their increased consumption may lead to various health issues including hypertension, renal failure, obesity, fatty liver disease, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, etc.
Reasons behind increased use of UPF
- Aggressive Marketing: Heavy advertising and digital targeting push UPFs to all age groups.
- High Corporate Profits: UPFs are cheap to make and highly profitable due to its Hyper-Palatable Design (repeated consumptions).
- Weak Regulations: Loose rules on labeling, advertising, and school sales
- Lifestyle Changes & high availability: Fast urban living increases dependence on ready-to-eat processed foods.
Policy Recommendations to curb UPF
- Increase Taxes on UPFs: To reduce consumption and fund subsidies for healthier foods.
- Regulate Corporate Influence: Replace industry self-regulation with mandatory rules and stronger competition oversight.
- Front-of-Pack Warning Labels: Showing high salt, sugar, and fat to inform consumers.
- Restrict UPFs in Public Institutions: Disallow UPFs in schools, hospitals, childcare centers, and government facilities.