An alarming increase in Non Communicable Diseases viz. high blood pressure, arthritis and cholesterol, has been detected among school children, an expert warned.

CMC Ayurveda Department Chief Medical Officer Dr.Padma Shanthi revealed that over 80 percent of schoolchildren treated at 20 dispensaries in the city have Non Communicable Diseases, which she attributed to amongst others, environmental pollution, stress and consumption of fast foods.

Labels on packaged foods may not always carry totally correct information, finds
Saheli Mitra

Do you know that a packet of instant noodles has over 60 per cent of your recommended daily salt intake or that a Happy Meal contains 90 per cent of your child's daily requirement of trans fats? Consumers are usually unaware of such facts since most companies in India don't bother to put such information on their labels. But a consumer has the right to know all these facts so that he or she can make an informed choice.

It is not in the interest of food companies to advertise what their products contain, but it is in our interest to know

Junk food is junk by its very definition. But how bad is it and what is it that companies do not tell people about this food? This is what the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) laboratory checked. The results were both predictable and alarming. Equally predictable was the response of big food companies and their spokespersons — denials and dismissals. But they are missing the point.

Amritsar: New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) releasing negative results in March after testing 16 major food brands, including Nestle's Maggi noodles, McDonald's, KFC, Haldiram's aloo bhujia and PepsiCo's Lays potato chips, has not resulted in any decline in the footfall at junk food outlets nor there is any impact on the sale of food products in the city.

The CSE in its study had claimed these products of these brands contain high level of harmful trans-fats, salts and sugar, which can lead to diseases like obesity and diabetes.

AHMEDABAD: A fund for public health should be created by levying specific taxes on tobacco, alcohol, petrol and junk foods, believes Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) faculty Dileep Mavalankar.

"Taxes should also be levied on any food item that has more than 10% sugar or fat and has high salt content and accrued to the fund for public health," said Mavalankar in response to a proposal of increasing public expenditure on health suggested by High Level Expert Group (HLEG) appointed by National Planning Commission. He was speaking at a function here organized by India Health Progress on Monday.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which took up cudgels against the health hazards due to junk food has hailed the UP governments decision to put an immediate ban on its sale within the premises and outside ICSE, CBSE and UP Board schools. “It is a significant and laudable step towards protecting our children from future health impairments,” pointed Director of CSE Sunita Narain while hailing the UP government’s decision to ban the sale of junk food and carbonated soft drinks on the school campuses and outside.

Did you ever ask for the vital statistics of a samosa? According to Delhi-based nutritionist Aditi Mehrotra, a medium-sized one has 250 calories, 30 gms of carbohydrates, 13.2 fats and just five grams of proteins. The samosa lives a busy life messing up our nutritional balance, yet, like other delicious-but-dangerous foods such as papad parantha, malai-maska bun, bread pakora, dhabeli sandwich or vada pav, it is seldom brought to book in a case against junk foods.