New Delhi, Jan 12 || Even as India is seeing a rapid rise in childhood obesity, diabetes, and heart-disease risk, a new study showed how school-based behavioural interventions can help reduce consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) that are rich in salt and sugar among adolescents.
The scientific study led by researchers from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, found that simple school-based behaviour programmes can dramatically reduce junk food consumption by over 1,000 calories per day.
Higher intake of UPFs, including fast foods and sugary drinks, is a known factor for increasing health issues such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and cancers in adolescents and teenagers.
“This study demonstrates the potential of school-based behavioural interventions to reduce ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption among Indian adolescents, addressing a critical gap in public health research and practice in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs),” said the researchers, including those from Imperial College London, UK, and Public Health Foundation of India, in the paper published in the international journal BMJ Global Health.