High carb, low protein intake driving diabetes, obesity in India: ICMR study

The rapidly changing eating habits with high intake of carbohydrates and saturated fat with low protein levels are behind the dramatic increase in diabetes and obesity cases among Indians according to the latest evidence generated from the Indian Council of Medical ResearchIndia Diabetes ICMRINDIAB study on TuesdayThe study published in the journal Nature Medicine showed that most Indians get a staggering 62 per cent of their calories from carbohydrates one of the highest in the worldMuch of this comes from lowquality sources like white rice milled whole grains and added sugar associated with increased metabolic risk diabetes prediabetes and obesityWhite rice dominates diets in the South East and Northeast while wheat is more common in the North and Central regionsHigh sugar intake is also concerning with 21 states and union territories exceeding the national recommendations of less than 5 per cent of energy for added sugar intake revealed researchers from the ICMRNational Institute of Nutrition Hyderabad and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation MDRF ChennaiThe crosssectional survey included a nationally representative sample of 121077 adults from urban and rural areas of 36 states and union territoriesThe findings showed that while average total fat intake stayed within national guidelines less than 30 per cent of energy saturated fat intake exceeded the recommended threshold for metabolic health less than 7 per cent of energy in all but four states Jharkhand Chhattisgarh Arunachal Pradesh and ManipurConsumption of monounsaturated and omega3 polyunsaturated fats remains low across regionsOverall protein intake in India is suboptimal averaging 12 per cent of daily calories with the highest intake 14 per cent of energy in the Northeast regionMost protein in Indian diets comes from plantbased foods like cereals pulses and legumes 9 per cent of energyIntakes of dairy and animal protein varied widely but intakes remained low nationwide 2 per cent of energy and 1 per cent of energy respectivelyldquoOur findings clearly show that typical Indian diets heavy in carbohydrates from white rice or whole wheat flour and low in quality protein are putting millions at risk Simply switching from white rice to whole wheat or millets is not enough unless total carbohydrate intake decreases and more calories come from plant or dairy proteinsrdquo said lead author Dr RM Anjana President at MDRFImportantly the study showed that replacing carbs with red meat protein or fats did not have the same protective effectldquoThese nationwide findings should inspire policy reforms especially regarding food subsidies and public health messaging to help Indians shift towards diets richer in plantbased and dairy proteins and lower in carbohydrates and saturated fatsrdquo said Dr V Mohan senior author of the paper and Chairman MDRFHe stressed that such dietary changes could help reverse current nutrition trends address widespread protein gaps and improve overall diet qualityThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever