Mint Primer | Fewer Indians are going hungry. But are they eating healthy?
- The prevalence of undernourishment, or hunger, declined in India from 21.4% of the population in 2004-06 to 13.7% in 2021-23. But worryingly, 55.6% of India’s population—roughly about 790 million people—were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2022.
Food insecurity in India is on a decline yet over half of its population still cannot afford a healthy diet, says a UN report released on 24 July. And, with rising intake of junk food, the incidence of obesity has nearly doubled in a decade. Mint explains what these numbers mean.
What does the United Nations report say?
The ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ is a cross-country comparison published jointly by five UN agencies. As per the report, the prevalence of undernourishment, or hunger, declined in India from 21.4% of the population in 2004-06 to 13.7% in 2021-23. But worryingly, 55.6% of India’s population—roughly about 790 million people—were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2022. However, this is an improvement over 2017 when about 70% Indians were unable to afford a healthy diet. A healthy diet is defined as one comprising a variety of locally available foods which meet both energy and nutritional needs.
So it’s eating well versus eating more?
Yes. Hunger can be satiated by calorie-dense and low-nutrition items such rice and wheat or even cheap ultra-processed junk items like savouries and biscuits. The data shows that India has largely fixed its hunger problem but the majority still cannot afford a nutritious diet. A healthy diet comprising fruit, vegetables, plant or animal sources of protein, and dairy can be costlier than a diet loaded with calories. Interestingly, numbers from the report show that between 2012 and 2022, the incidence of obesity rose from 4.1% of the population to 7.3%. India is now home to over 70 million adults who are obese.
How has the food security scheme helped in this?
India runs the world’s biggest free food programme which supplies 5 kg cereals to over 810 million people every month. The scheme is limited to addressing hunger. Other schemes such as school meals offer a more nutritious diet but it varies from state to state. For instance, Tamil Nadu provide eggs to children every day while others like Uttar Pradesh do not offer any.
Also Read: Why nutrition, and not hunger alleviation, needs to be India's primary focus
How does India compare with others?
Among South Asian countries, India, where 56% of the population cannot afford a healthy diet, ranks lower than Bangladesh (48%), Sri Lanka (41%), Nepal (41%), Bhutan (5%), and Maldives (2%) but better than Pakistan (59%). China (17%) and Brazil (25%) do far better. India scores lower than lower-middle-income countries (53%) as well as the global average (35%). The cost of a healthy diet in India increased by 17% in the five years to 2022, compared to 30% for the South Asia region. This means India did a better job taming food prices.
Also Read: 71% Indians can’t afford a healthy meal, millions die every year due to poor diet: Report
What is the fallout of an unhealthy diet?
Unhealthy diet is responsible for over half of India’s disease burden, the National Institute of Nutrition cautioned in May. Cereals make up 50-70% of our daily energy needs while protein sources contribute just 7-9%—half the recommended level. As pulses and vegetables are costly, Indians are spending more on cheap junk food. Processed food and beverages were the biggest component in the monthly per capita spending of families, accounting for a tenth of all expenses in 2022-23, shows government data.
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