Processed foods, sedentary lifestyles fueling India's metabolic crisis: Health expert
Hyderabad, Aug 4
A paradigm shift in dietary habits, increasing consumption of processed foods, and widespread sedentary lifestyles are severely impacting India's metabolic health, a health expert said on Tuesday.
In an interview with IANS, Dr. Kalapala, Consultant Gastroenterologist and Director - Center for Obesity and Metabolic Therapy at the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG Hospitals), warned that obesity should no longer be viewed in isolation, but as a complex metabolic disease affecting organs from head to toe.
Highlighting the dangers of modern dietary patterns, Dr. Kalapala noted that heavily processed foods laden with high carbohydrates, bad fats, and refined sugars dominate markets across both urban and rural areas.
"The processed food itself will increase cravings because of delayed satiety," said Dr. Kalapala, who is the Vice Chair of American Bariatric Endoscopy and Fellow of American, European and Japanese Endoscopy Societies . "Once you consume these foods, which have high carbs, high fats, and that too bad fats with no proteins, this will take a toll on the metabolic health of the body, leading to weight gain, fatty liver, diabetes, and other systemic involvement."
Dr. Kalapala emphasised that even individuals identifying as pure vegetarians or teetotalers who neither smoke nor consume alcohol are falling prey to metabolic disorders.
"Because of this food change, sedentary lifestyle, and widespread stress, it leads to metabolic changes, mainly fatty liver," he explained. "The liver, when it contains fat, remains silent until detected through ultrasound or liver function tests. By the time a person knows, the liver is already damaged."
He added that modern stress significantly exacerbates the crisis through the gut-brain axis, noting that "stress is something which will precipitate and make people crave more and eat more," while discouraging physical activity.
Further addressing the younger demographic, Dr. Kalapala pointed to alarming statistics from ICMR and National Family Health Survey studies, showing childhood obesity rates touching 15 to 18 percent in India.
Crucially, he noted that the roots of childhood obesity often begin in the womb.
"If the mother is overweight during pregnancy, the same thing transmits to the fetus, and then the child who is born-from then itself childhood obesity starts," he said, adding that coupled with academic pressures and a lack of school playgrounds, children enter their teenage years already facing severe metabolic shifts.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The point about childhood obesity starting in the womb is so important. We need more awareness about maternal nutrition. Indian middle-class families often focus on feeding kids processed snacks like chips and biscuits thinking they're treating them well, but we're literally destroying their future health. Schools need to bring back mandatory sports periods too.
Living in Hyderabad and seeing this issue firsthand. The city's fast-food culture has exploded in the last decade. I've lived in both India and the US, and honestly the processed food here is often worse because our regulations are less strict about sugar and fat content. Plus traditional Indian meals with rice and rotis are increasingly being replaced with instant noodles and frozen items. We need better food labeling laws.
As a nutritionist, I see this every single day in my practice. The problem is also the "healthy" products marketed to Indians - those low-fat biscuits, sugar-free drinks and protein bars are full of artificial sweeteners and ultra-processed ingredients. People think they're eating healthy but they're not. We need to go back to our roots - millets, fresh vegetables, dals, and traditional cooking methods. Also, parents need to limit screen time and encourage outdoor play for children.
We need to acknowledge the role of corporate food companies pushing these products in our rural areas too. Villages now have more packaged snacks than traditional food. And what's worse is these multinational companies target children with attractive packaging and ads. Genuine government intervention is required - maybe tax on ultra-processed foods and subsidies on fresh produce. Also, the education system needs to prioritize physical activity.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.