Effective strategies to tackle NCDs stressed
Yadadri-Bhongir: Executive Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Dr Vikas Bhatia on Wednesday underlined the need for effective strategies to protect public from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by controlling preventable nutritional risk factors.
Making opening remarks at a webinar on ‘Front of package labelling and children’s health’ conducted by Bibinagar AIIMS to discuss aspects of food safety, including the need for the effective interpretative front of package warning labels on all unhealthy food products, Dr Bhatia said right to health is an inclusive right extending not only to timely and appropriate healthcare but also to the underlying determinants of health, such as an adequate supply of safe food and nutrition among all the children. India is witnessing a rapid surge in NCDs — primarily cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer. In India, nearly 5.8 million people die from NCDs ie, heart and lung diseases, stroke, cancer and diabetes every year as per WHO report, 2015.
Quoting the report, ‘India: Health of the Nation’s States’ of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, he said the contribution of NCDs to the total disease burden has increased from 30%.
National Institute of Nutrition senior scientist Dr N Alrappa said impacts of nutritional risk factors would be primarily consumption of food containing high fat, sugar and salt in children. Increased consumption of high salt and sugar packaged food has led to several chronic NCDs. He also spoke on the obesity trend in India and childhood obesity.
Clinical nutritionist Dr Soumya Swaminathan from St John’s Research Institute, Head of Community and Family Medicine (AIIMS) Dr Neeraj Agarwal, Dean Dr Rahul Narag and others shared their views.
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