Consequences of such advertising are increased intake of unhealthy food products associated with obesity and diabetes, the report said. “India is facing a dubious distinction of persistent under-nutrition among children under five, and a rising trend of obesity and diabetes among grown-ups,” according to the report.
Arun Gupta, convenor of NAPi, said in a statement: “As amendments may take some time, the government can implement that each advertisement must disclose in bold letters the amount of nutrient of concern per 100gram/ml.” He added that it would be in the best interest of people’s health that a public health bill is proposed in the Parliament to halt obesity.
Citing a 2023 ICMR-INDIAB study, the report cited that there are 100 million cases of diabetes and one in every four individuals is either suffering from diabetes or is pre-diabetic or obese.
The NAPi report said “a major underlying factors for rise in obesity and diabetes is increasing consumption of unhealthy diets triggered by aggressive advertising and marketing of unhealthy foods high in fat, sugar and salts, or ultra processed foods”.
The report said foods and drinks are being advertised by using different appeals such as “evoking emotional feelings, manipulating use of experts, appropriating benefits real fruits, using celebrities to add value to the brand, projecting as healthy, etc.”According to the report, food ads conceal “important information” about nutrients of concern mandated by the Consumer Protection Act 2019, as well as the Advertisement Code of the Cable TV regulation Act 1994 which states that advertisements which endanger the safety of children or create interest in unhealthy practices …shall not be carried in cable services”.
