The Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN)-led ‘Let’s Fix Our Food’ (LFOF) Consortium on Wednesday released a policy document outlining evidence-based recommendations to promote healthier diets and create healthier food environments for children and adolescents across India.
Titled Priority Policy Actions to Promote Healthier Diets and Food Environments for Children and Adolescents in India, the document was launched by NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr. M. Srinivas during the LFOF Dissemination and Consultation Workshop held at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.
The Let’s Fix Our Food Consortium is a multi-institutional platform led by ICMR-NIN, bringing together organisations including UNICEF India, WHO, FSSAI, PHFI, Resolve to Save Lives, the World Food Programme (WFP), the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Lady Irwin College, IFPRI, Deakin University and other national and international partners. The initiative aims to support India’s efforts to prevent diet-related non-communicable diseases through research, policy analysis, advocacy and stakeholder engagement.
The policy document is the outcome of nearly three years of multidisciplinary research, stakeholder consultations and policy discussions. It recommends measures across several areas, including creating healthy school food environments, improving nutrition literacy, introducing front-of-pack nutrition labelling, regulating the marketing of unhealthy foods to children, taxing foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS), promoting healthier dietary fats, reducing salt consumption, encouraging the use of low-sodium salt substitutes, strengthening social and behaviour change communication, increasing youth engagement and adopting fiscal measures to encourage healthier food choices.
Speaking at the launch, Dr. M. Srinivas said evidence-based and multisectoral policy action is essential to create healthier food environments for children and adolescents. He noted that collaborative initiatives such as the Let’s Fix Our Food Consortium are crucial in addressing the growing burden of overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases in the country.
Dr. Bharati Kulkarni said ICMR-NIN remains committed to generating high-quality scientific evidence and fostering partnerships that translate research into effective public health action. She said the policy recommendations reflect the collective efforts of researchers, policymakers, development partners and young people working towards healthier food environments for future generations.
Prof. (Dr.) K. Srinath Reddy highlighted the need for comprehensive policy interventions to address the commercial, social and environmental drivers of unhealthy diets, while emphasising sustained action to protect children and adolescents from obesogenic food environments.
The workshop also witnessed the launch of several knowledge resources developed under the consortium, including the Let’s Fix Our Food website, the Nutrition Environment Assessment Toolkit for Schools (NEAT-S) and its accompanying report, an e-learning module on understanding food labels, and educational resources developed by ICMR-NIN on fats, sugars and salt to improve nutrition literacy among children and adolescents.
UNICEF India Chief of Nutrition Marie-Claude Desilets said malnutrition is no longer limited to undernutrition, with rising obesity driven by unhealthy diets posing a growing challenge to children’s health. She described the release of the policy briefs and the NEAT-S toolkit as an important step towards creating healthier school food environments.
Resolve to Save Lives India Executive Director Dr. Syed Imran Farooq stressed the importance of reducing excess consumption of salt, fat and sugar through supportive food policies to lower the burden of cardiovascular diseases and other diet-related health conditions. He also reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to promoting healthier food environments across the country.
