ICMR-NIN Hyderabad Unveils Policy to Promote Healthier Diets for Children
HYDERABAD: The Indian Council of Medical Research–National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) on Wednesday released a national policy roadmap to tackle childhood obesity. The roadmap also aims to promote healthier diets among children and adolescents. It marks the end of three years of research carried out with partner institutions.
Research shapes policy for healthier food environments
The policy document, Priority Policy Actions to Promote Healthier Diets and Food Environments for Children and Adolescents in India, was prepared by the ICMR-NIN-led Let’s Fix Our Food (LFOF) Consortium.
The roadmap is based on field research, nutrition studies and consultations with experts and stakeholders. It recommends policy measures to address the growing number of overweight and obese children. It also focuses on reducing diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Dr M Srinivas, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, released the document during the LFOF Dissemination and Consultation Workshop at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.
Policy recommends taxes and stricter school food rules
The roadmap suggests tax and regulatory measures to reduce children’s exposure to unhealthy foods.
It recommends taxes on foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS). It also calls for restrictions on marketing such foods to children. Another key proposal is mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FoPNL).
The document also recommends stronger food standards in schools. It encourages lower salt intake, the use of low-sodium salt substitutes and healthier cooking fats.
To improve awareness, the roadmap suggests Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) campaigns. It also encourages greater involvement of young people to improve food knowledge and promote healthy eating habits.
New tools launched to support implementation
The LFOF Consortium also launched several tools to help implement the policy.
These include the Nutrition Environment Assessment Toolkit for Schools (NEAT-S). The toolkit helps assess and improve school food environments using a standard reporting system.
The consortium also introduced interactive e-learning modules. These help children understand food labels and use ICMR-NIN resources on reducing fat, sugar and salt intake. It also launched the LFOF Digital Portal. The portal provides policy briefs, research findings and supporting evidence.
National and global organisations joined the initiative
The three-year programme involved several national and international organisations. These include the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), UNICEF India, World Health Organization (WHO), Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), World Food Programme (WFP), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Lady Irwin College and Deakin University.
ICMR-NIN Director Dr Bharati Kulkarni, PHFI Founder President Prof K Srinath Reddy and other experts said the research must now lead to effective policy action. They said strong implementation is essential to protect children from long-term health risks.
