EAT-Lancet Commission Report | UPSC

HEADLINES:

Indian diets are unhealthy: EAT-Lancet report

WHY IN NEWS:

The report compared food consumption patterns in India with a reference diet from the EAT-Lancet Commission

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Report

LEARNING:

For PRELIMS understand the comparison and the analysis made on grains and pulses . Remember the publishers are based in Stockholm !

For MAINS use this report to substantiate your answers related to malnutrition and agricultural policies . Let us dive in !

ISSUE:

Indian diets — across states, income groups and rural and urban sectors — are unhealthy, according to the 2019 EAT-Lancet Commission report.

FOCUS OF THE REPORT :

The report compared food consumption patterns in India with a reference diet from EAT-Lancet.

Calorie consumption of each food group — by kilocalorie per capita per day — was calculated using the quantity of consumption, from nutritional values of food items that were provided by the NSSO.

DATA SURVEY AND COMPARISON :

COMPARISON : This study used data for analysis from the Consumption Expenditure Survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in 2011–12.
SURVEY : The survey carried a nationally representative sample of 0.102 million households from 7,469 villages and 5,268 urban blocks across the country.

The EAT-Lancet diet comprises eight food groups: Whole grains, tubers and starchy vegetables, fruits, other vegetables, dairy foods, protein sources, added fats and added sugars.

DAILY CALORIE CONSUMPTION IN INDIA IS LOW

CALORIE CONSUMPTION : The average daily calorie consumption in India is below the recommended 2,503 kcal / capita / day across all groups, except the richest 5 per cent of the population.
LOWER CALORIE CONSUMPTION : The calorie share of fruits, vegetables, legumes, meat, fish and eggs in Indian diets was significantly lower, while whole grains accounted for more than EAT-Lancet recommendations.
PROTEIN DIET ? Calories from protein sources account for only six to eight per cent of Indian diets, while the EAT-Lancet diet recommends the share be 29 per cent.
IMPACT OF PROCESSED FOOD : An average Indian household consumes more calories from processed foods than fruits.

EAT-Lancet recommends about one-third (811 kcals) of the total daily calorie intake should come from whole grains.

GRAINS IN DIET : The average Indian household receives nearly half (47 per cent) of their total calories from whole grains.
RURAL CALORIE SHARE OF CEREALS : The calorie share of cereals is as high as 70 per cent for the poorest rural households.

EFFECTS OF UNHEALTHY DIET

MALNUTRITION : Unhealthy diets are linked to malnutrition and several diseases.

Unhealthy diets and inadequate physical activity are risk factors for non-communicable diseases- World Health Organization.

ABOUT LANCET EAT :

WHAT IS LANCET EAT ? EAT is a non-profit startup dedicated to transforming our global food system through sound science, impatient disruption and novel partnerships.
VISION : It is a fair and sustainable global food system for healthy people and planet – leaving no one behind.
MISSION : Mission is to transform our global food system through sound science, impatient disruption and novel partnerships.

The commission promotes a global diet healthy for both the people and the planet, by targeting sustainable food production that can feed 10 billion people by 2050.

IASbhai WINDUP:

There is a significant difference between the EAT-Lancet reference diet and existing dietary allowances.
One such allowance by the Indian Council of Medical Research takes into account only human nutritional requirements, while the EAT-Lancet diet also figures environmental footprints of several food items.
Indian policymakers need to increase efforts to make sustainable and healthy diets more accessible and affordable.

SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB | EAT-Lancet Commission Report | UPSC

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