After following the international data on human nutrition requirements for ages, India will for the first time have its own dietary intake requirement recommendations by the end of this month  Indian eating habit has never followed any dietary norms or recommendations. Instead, it has always shadowed international data on human nutrition requirements, especially that of the US. Resultantly, the dietary prerequisites mainly decided on the basis of dietary customs, requirements, availability and climate of a particular region or a country, remained unknown to Indians. This led to a fall in nutritional level, which is much below the recommended point in some areas of the country. Moreover, persistent food distribution difficulties also contributed in a major way to uneven intake of essential nutrients among Indians.
In a bid to address the issue, the national nutrition expert group under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has come up with a set of guidelines that will recommend dietary allowance for Indians.
“The guidelines will standardise the dietary requirements for Indians. It will help people know and understand how much quantity of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins or minerals one should consume to stay healthy,” opines V Sudarshan Rao, senior scientist at National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, in an interview with a FoodProcessing360 correspondent.
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The Indian recommended dietary allowance will hold significance for various food companies selling food products in the domestic market, play a major role in government’s spending on food as well as the public distribution system. The dietary guidelines have been prepared from data available from the local population and it recommends an immediate change in the dietary intake trends followed in the country.
According to S M Naikare, president of Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (India), Pune Chapter, “The recommendations will also help national planners to come up with good dietary agenda for the government through the likes of mid-day meal programmes for children in schools and others. It will act as an indication for the government to attach importance to its various dietary programmes.”
A few of the recommendations mentioned in the guidelines are reduction of calorie intake, reduction of calcium requirement and increase in vitamin D intake. It also advocates alterations in the requirement of proteins for pregnant women.
Shalmoli Kundu |
