NIN to study in-depth nutritional behaviour

In yet another first, the DAB-India study also collects samples of cooked food from individual households of all Indian States to assess their micronutrient value and also to understand how many contaminants are there in what people eat. 

Hyderabad: For the first time in India, city-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) is just months away from completing a mega Diet and Biomarkers Study (DAB)-India that enumerates and analyses all the vital nutritional and health care parameters of an average Indian.

While there are many nutritional- based studies taken up in the past by various governmental institutions, this is for the first time that a concerted effort is underway to understand nutritional behaviour of people from all Indian States, and their health status by collecting blood samples to measure diabetes, micronutrient deficiencies and status of anaemia.

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In yet another first, the DAB-India study also collects samples of cooked food from individual households of all Indian States to assess their micronutrient value and also to understand how many contaminants are there in what people eat.

“We have rolled out this study across India. It collects nutritional information of the population. Blood samples are also collected to assess anaemia, availability of Vitamin B12, Vitamin A and D, and also to measure blood sugar (diabetes). Quite a few health and nutritional biomarkers are being evaluated along with height and weight of adults and children,” says Director, NIN, Dr. R Hemalatha.

The study covers people of all age groups and perhaps for the first time in India, the NIN researchers are also collecting 24-hour diet recall, to find exactly what people, across different age groups and from different regions, are eating in a day.

“The DAB-India data will clearly indicate the nutritional gap in pregnant women, growing children and individuals of all age groups. This data will essentially give new direction to prestigious nutrition-based programmes like midday meal for children and one full-meal initiative for pregnant and lactating women at the Anganwadi centres,” Dr. Hemalatha said.

The ground-breaking study, which is being spearheaded by NIN covering all the Indian States and union Territories, is expected to be completed in the coming few months. Already, the process of collecting data has been completed in 12 Indian States and in another one month, the remaining 12 Indian States will be covered. “We are evaluating people’s nutritional status in terms of their food intake and in terms of blood levels of nutrients. We are also assessing them clinically to ascertain whether they have some nutrition deficiency,” Dr. Hemalatha explained.