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Providing nutritional support to half the households with individuals undergoing tuberculosis (TB) treatment could prevent roughly 4.5 per cent TB-related deaths and 2.2 per cent of disease episodes by 2035, a modelling study has found. The study, published in The Lancet Global Health journal, estimated that more than 3.6 lakh deaths and over 8.8 lakh TB cases could be averted through such intervention. Typically, about 24 households would need to be treated of tuberculosis to prevent one death, while 10 would need to be treated to prevent one case, researchers, including those from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), Chennai, estimated. The nutritional intervention could have an additional cost of about USD 1,349 million on the health system, with potential benefits of USD 167 for every disability-adjusted life-year averted, they projected. 'Disability-adjusted life-year' is a metric that helps measure overall burde
From addressing gaps in women's safety mechanisms to strengthening grassroots initiatives and nutritional security, the Women and Child Development ministry is set to focus on tackling systemic issues in the coming year. The year 2024 saw Annapurna Devi taking charge as the new Women and Child Development Minister and Savitri Thakur as her deputy. The operationalization of fast track special courts for handling cases of rape and crimes under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act will remain a critical focus in 2025. The ministry is expected to tighten its monitoring of state-level compliance and increase the utilization of central funds allocated for justice delivery, senior officials of the ministry said. With the Centre's scheme requiring fast track special courts to exclusively handle sensitive cases, 2025 is likely to see renewed efforts to operationalize additional courts and integrate them with support systems like one-stop centres, one of the officials
Dr Morepen on Tuesday forayed into the growing wellness segment with the launch of a weight management initiative. The company, a fully-owned subsidiary of Morepen Laboratories, is looking to establish itself in the segment which is currently valued at around Rs 12,000 crore and growing at an annual rate of 16 per cent. The company has launched its wellness product -- LightLife -- designed to tackle India's growing obesity crisis. India's obesity rate is increasing and this segment is expected to touch USD 52.3 billion by 2032, "reflecting the urgency to address weight management with solutions that are both safe and effective," Dr Morepen CEO Varun Suri said. With LightLife the company is looking to address the obesity issue without crash diets or harmful fads, he stated. According to the World Obesity Atlas 2024, over 25 per cent of Indian adults are projected to face obesity by 2035. Suri said the company's initiative is about promoting a healthy balanced lifestyle through ...
Rural population has been grappling with decline in food and nutrition intake after the advent of the neo-liberal policies in the early 1990s with an estimated 80 per cent of them now having less than 2,200 calories per day, according to economist Utsa Patnaik. "The nutritional intake data is not there. But from whatever there is, by using certain approximations, I estimate that more than 80 per cent of the rural population has slipped below 2,200 calories per day intake," she said while delivering the second P Sundarayya memorial lecture on the topic 'Agrarian Distress, Worker-Peasant Alliance and Resistance to Corporate and Imperialist Designs in India' here on Wednesday evening. "That is what the data tell us. That is what the government's own data from the annual economic surveys and from the National Sample Service tell us. And of course, all these claims of declining mass poverty is completely false," she alleged. The accepted average calorie requirement in India is 2400 ...
People across all age groups in India, both men and women, are consuming inadequate amounts of micronutrients critical for health, including iron, calcium and folate, as estimated in a study published in The Lancet Global Health journal. The study is the first to provide estimates of insufficient consumption of 15 micronutrients across 185 countries, taken through diets without the use of supplements, according to an international team, including researchers from Harvard University, US. The findings suggested that around the world, almost 70 per cent, or over five billion, people do not consume enough iodine, vitamin E, and calcium. The researchers also found that within a country and an age group, more women were consuming inadequate amounts of iodine, vitamin B12 and iron, compared to men, whereas more men were consuming inadequate amounts of magnesium, vitamin B6, zinc and vitamin C, compared to women. In India, while more women consumed insufficient amounts of iodine, compared
In the Pindwara village of Rajasthan, a grassroots-level initiative led by local women has transformed the community's approach to nutrition. The women, part of a self-help group, began cultivating kitchen gardens to ensure a steady supply of diverse and nutritious food for their families. These gardens now yield a variety of fruits and vegetables, contributing to a balanced diet and reducing the community's dependence on market-bought food items, which are often less nutritious. This initiative has not only improved health, but has also empowered women by giving them control over their family's nutrition. Similarly, in the tribal regions of Chhattisgarh, a collective effort by local community leaders has revitalised traditional agricultural practices. The community has reintroduced indigenous crops like millets and pulses, which are more resilient to the changing climate and require fewer resources to cultivate. These crops are rich in essential nutrients and have historically be
As many as 73 per cent Indians prefer to read ingredient lists and nutritional value before purchasing any snack, reveals a new survey, highlighting the majority of Indians' growing inclination towards healthy snacking. Based on a survey of over 6,000 people across India, the Healthy Snacking Report 2024, released on Sunday, aims to examine the ever evolving consumption trends in India. "Seventy three per cent of those surveyed prefer to read labels for ingredient lists and nutritional value before making a purchase. Of this, 93 per cent expressed a desire to transition to healthier options, highlighting a correlation between label reading and conscious choices while pushing for transparency," read the report. The report was released against the backdrop of an increasing number of cases regarding food adulteration that have come to the fore, be it in spices, confectionaries or fast-moving goods. This, according to the report, has triggered a wave of conscious consumption, with ...
A monthly food basket with adequate protein alongside effective therapy has been found to reduce new tuberculosis cases by nearly half among family members of TB patients in India, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health journal. An international team of researchers enrolled household contacts of 2,800 patients with confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis across 28 TB units of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme in four districts of Jharkhand. Household contacts in the intervention group received monthly food rations and micronutrients (750 kcal, 23 grams of protein per day with micronutrients). After screening all household contacts for co-prevalent tuberculosis, all participants were followed up actively until July 31, 2022, for the primary outcome of incident TB. Between August 2019 and January 2021, there were 10,345 household contacts, of whom 5,328 (948 per cent) of 5,621 household contacts in the intervention group and 4,283 (907 per cent) of 4,724 ..
Undernutrition, especially the deficiency of micronutrients, remains a big concern in India, say food experts who emphasised the need to focus more on tackling this "hidden hunger" that undermines the health of people. Undernutrition denotes insufficient intake of energy and nutrients to meet an individual's needs to maintain good health. The Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) 2023 launched this week by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said that globally the undernourished population had increased to 768 million in 2021, marking a 34.2 per cent rise from 2014 when it was estimated to be 572 million. Undernourishment was most prevalent in Afghanistan at 30 per cent between 2019 and 2021, followed by 17 per cent in Pakistan, 16 per cent in India, 12 per cent in Bangladesh, six per cent in Nepal, and four per cent in Sri Lanka, the report said. Shahidur Rashid, Director-South Asia, IFPRI, noted that India is well placed when it comes to food production and ...