Welcoming the step, Dr Arun Gupta, Pediatrician and Convenor of Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi), a national think-tank on nutrition consisting of independent medical experts, paediatricians, and nutritionists, said the advisory was “long overdue.”“For the first time, the WCD ministry has acknowledged that added sugars, salt, and HFSS items in THR and HCM are a real concern. If implemented in letter and spirit, this will protect millions of children, pregnant women, and adolescent girls from diet-related non-communicable diseases,” he told this newspaper.Dr Gupta also urged the central government to include the definition of HFSS in supplementary advisory. “While the concerns are expressed on the use of preservatives, colours, and flavours, it might be useful to advise avoidance of pre-packaged foods for all infants, young children and adolescents as they contain such ingredients that are mostly high in sugars/salt or fats.”According to Neelmani Singh, a public health nutrition expert, the government’s push to eliminate added sugar from Take Home Rations under Mission Poshan 2.0 is a heartfelt effort to give kids a healthier start in life. “It’s about protecting them from obesity, diabetes, and other health issues down the road while teaching them to enjoy food that’s good for them,” said Singh, who added that he wrote several letters to the WCD minister Annapurna Devi on this issue.The guidelines also asked states to reduce the number of sweet recipes served in morning snacks and HCM.
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