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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.
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.
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?
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.
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).
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.
