ICMR-NIN led ‘Let’s Fix Our Food’ consortium has released a policy document to promote healthy diets for children and adolescents. It aims to improve the eating habits of children across the country and prevent non-communicable diseases.
New Delhi [भारत]July 22 (ANI): The Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) led ‘Let’s Fix Our Food’ (LFOF) consortium on Wednesday released a policy document titled ‘Priority Policy Actions to Promote Healthy Diets and Food Environments for Children and Adolescents in India’. It provides evidence-based recommendations to promote better eating habits and healthy food environments among children and adolescents across the country.
According to a Health Ministry release, the policy document was launched by Dr M Srinivas, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, during the LFOF Dissemination and Consultation Workshop organized at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. In this program, Dr. Bharti Kulkarni, Director of ICMR-NIN, Founder President of Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) K. Srinath Reddy, and representatives from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, FSSAI, UNICEF India, Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL), consortium partner institutions, researchers, development partners and youth representatives were present.
What is the Let’s Fix Our Food (LFOF) Consortium?
According to the press release, the Let’s Fix Our Food (LFOF) Consortium is a multi-institutional national platform led by ICMR-NIN, including Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) India, UNICEF India, Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), PHFI, WHO, FSSAI, IEG, WFP, Lady Irwin College, IFPRI, Deakin University and other national and international partners. Through research, policy analysis, advocacy and stakeholder engagement, the consortium seeks to support India’s efforts to prevent diet-related non-communicable diseases by transforming the food environment, particularly for children and adolescents.
This publication brings together almost three years of multidisciplinary research, stakeholder consultation and policy dialogues. It sets out policy recommendations in key areas such as healthy school food environments, nutrition literacy, front-of-pack nutrition labelling, regulation of marketing of unhealthy foods to children, taxation of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS), healthy dietary fats, salt reduction, low-sodium salt alternatives, social and behavior change communication, youth engagement and financial measures to promote healthy diets.
What did the experts say?
Dr. M. Srinivas, Member (Health), NITI Aayog
Dr M Srinivas said, “Evidence-based, multi-sector policy action is essential to create healthy food environments for children and adolescents. Collaborative initiatives like the ‘Let’s Fix Our Food’ Consortium are critical to address the growing burden of overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases in India.”
Dr. Bharti Kulkarni, Director of ICMR-NIN
Dr Bharati Kulkarni said, “ICMR-NIN is committed to generating high-quality evidence and fostering partnerships that translate research into public health action. The policy recommendations reflect the collective efforts of researchers, policy makers, development partners and youth working towards a healthy food environment for India’s future generations.”
PHFI’s founding president K. Srinath Reddy
Of. Srinath Reddy stressed the need for comprehensive policy interventions that address the commercial, social and environmental determinants of unhealthy diets, and called for continued action to protect children and adolescents from food environments that promote obesity.
Many knowledge products were also launched
The press release said the workshop also launched several knowledge products developed under the consortium, including the LFOF website, the Nutrition Environment Assessment Toolkit for Schools (NEAT-S) and its reports, an e-learning module on understanding food labels, and a set of ICMR-NIN educational resources on fats, sugars and salt to strengthen nutrition literacy in children and adolescents.
International partners also expressed their views
UNICEF India’s Nutrition Chief Marie-Claude Desilets
Marie-Claude Desilets said, “Malnutrition is no longer just about undernutrition. Rising obesity, driven by unhealthy diets, challenges the healthy development of children and adolescents. The release of these ten policy documents and the Nutrition Environment Assessment Toolkit for Schools (NEAT-S) is a step towards creating policies for healthy school food environments. Every child has the right to grow up in food environments that support them to thrive, Enables you to learn and achieve your full potential.”
RTSL Executive Director Syed Imran Farooq
Syed Imran Farooq highlighted the need to reduce the intake of added salt, fat and sugar, while also emphasizing on food policies that support a healthy food environment and reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases and other health threats. He also acknowledged the leadership of ICMR-NIN and reaffirmed RTSL’s commitment towards a shared vision of a healthy food environment across India.
Transforming evidence into actionable policy
The consultation featured new evidence generated by consortium partners on school food environments, unhealthy food marketing, nutrition education, dietary behavior, fiscal policy choices, and nutrition environment assessments in several states. The workshop concluded with thematic discussions on translating evidence into actionable policy recommendations to support healthy food environments for children and adolescents.
The Let’s Fix Our Food Consortium was established to generate evidence and catalyze policy action for a healthy food environment in India, particularly focusing on children and adolescents, the press release said. The policy priorities released today are based on multidisciplinary research and consultations and seek to support efforts to prevent diet-related non-communicable diseases through coordinated, evidence-informed action. (ANI)
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