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‘Sugar, salt and fat alerts should feature on front labels of packaged foods’: Lancet study author sounds alarm on ultra-processed foods

India must act immediately to take action and cut the consumption of ultra-processed foods to halt obesity, diabetes and heart disease

4 min readNew DelhiNov 24, 2025 08:13 AM IST

‘Sugar, salt and fat alerts must on front labels of food packets’

The Government should implement the front-of-pack warning label, saying ‘high in sugar/salt/fats,’ so that people can easily take note.

India is undergoing the fastest sales growth of ultra-processed foods and a rapid dietary transition, both of which are impacting public health on a large scale, increasing the burden of chronic illnesses. These are the findings of the latest The Lancet series on ‘Ultra-Processed Foods and Human Health.’

“Traditional meals are being fast replaced by hyper-palatable industrial ultra-processed food products via aggressive marketing and advertising campaigns. India must act immediately to take action and cut the consumption of ultra-processed foods to halt obesity, diabetes and heart disease,” says Dr Arun Gupta, co-author of the study, and also the convenor, Nutrition Advocacy for Public Interest (NAPI) and former member of PM’s Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges. Retail sales of ultra-processed foods in India have surged from $0.9 billion in 2006 to nearly $38 billion in 2019, a 40-fold increase. During the same period, obesity doubled in India, as per the Lancet series.

Ultra-processed food products (UPFs) are industrial formulations of food substances, mostly high in fat, sugar, and/or salt (HFSS). They are laden additives like stabilisers, emulsifiers, colorants and flavouring substances. These foods include chips, soft drinks, chips, chocolate, candy, ice-cream, sweetened breakfast cereals, packaged soups, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, fries, ready-to-heat foods.

What are the challenges of eliminating UPFs?

India is one of the fastest growing markets of UPFs, the sales growing by 150 per cent over the past 15 years as per Euromonitor international data.

Since UPF consumption is driven by the food products industry, much of their profits are used for marketing and advertising, supported by celebrities, “buy-one-get-one-free” sales incentives and sports sponsorships. This, in the absence of regulations, is hard to stop. The Economic Survey of India 2025, also recommends that it’s time for stronger regulations and not just self-regulation.

How worrisome are UPFs for children

We don’t have data to say what percentage of the diet of children or youth or adults is UPF. Once we know that and identify which UPFs are being consumed and why, we can work towards regulation to pin down marketing/advertisements and create a healthy food environment.

To begin with, school canteens can be made UPF-free and focus on increasing availability of minimally processed foods. This was done in Brazil. Such steps can cut down consumption by children. Otherwise, we are looking at addictive food behaviours, imbalanced gut microbiome in the absence of nutrients and fibres, childhood obesity and diabetes and impaired brain health because of poor nutrition.

How to segregate ultra-processed from processed foods?

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As long as food processing is minimal and preserves the basic structure of the food, it is fine. The moment we begin to use industrial starches, protein isolates, and add flavours to make them hyper-palatable, the food doesn’t stay healthy. If any food contains an emulsifier or additive, it is UPF.

What to avoid from shop shelves?

This is tricky as most UPF products are sold as pre-packaged convenience foods, attractive, colourful and full of health claims. A simple way to avoid would be to not buy pre-packaged food or drinks, except whole foods such as milk and nuts. Go to the ingredient list. See if it contains additives. Then check total sugar or fat content; if these are more than 10 per cent, avoid the food item. If sodium is more than 1 mg per kilocalorie, avoid it. This is based on benchmarks set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

What kind of alert labels should we be looking at?

Front of pack labels should be transparent. Currently they are used for branding and claims such as “high protein” but are never used for showing content of sugar, salt or fats. Some countries use UPF markers in front-of-pack labels. The Government should immediately implement the front-of-pack warning label, saying “high in sugar/salt/fats,” so that people can take note easily.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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Lancet
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