Indians Eat More Carbs And Less Protein Than Recommended
Nov 21, 2019, 16:31 IST
New study reveals that Indians are consuming more carbohydrates and less protein than what is recommended.
EAT-Lancet published the results of its three-year long study in January that contains a lot of useful insights regarding the food consumption trends noticed in Indians. While recommending an intake of 2,500 Kcal food a day, the study enjoins people to move from processed flour (carbs) to more of whole grains (proteins). The other recommendations by the study include decreasing animal foods and increasing plant based foods. The recommendations aim at achieving better human health and moving away from foods that are environmentally unsustainable, especially red meat to be specific. Mint has discovered that Indians consume more carbs, sugars and processed foods that what can be approved. Also, they are found to eat less protein and less fruits and vegetables than what is advised.
Recommended values in grams
Nutrition experts recommend consuming 282 grams of carbohydrates per day. Rural based Indians are found to consume about 432 grams of carbohydrates in an average while urban based Indians consume around 347 grams of carbs in an average. While the recommended quantity of proteins per day is 459 grams, rural based Indians take in only about 194 grams of proteins in an average while urban based Indians intake slightly more quantity estimated at 242 grams per day in an average. Thus, while the carbs intake of Indian seems to be higher than the recommended values, the intake of protein falls short significantly both in the rural and urban areas.
Recommended daily calorific intake
Regarding daily caloric intake, nutritionists advise consuming 850 Kcal of carbohydrate sources per day. In the rural areas, Indians consume 1,318 grams of carb based foods in an average. The average consumption of carb based foods in the urban regions in India is 1,058 Kcal. While consuming about 850 Kcal protein based foods is recommended per day, Indians in the rural areas consume about 269 Kcal of protein sources and urban based Indians consume about 335 Kcal of protein based foods in an average per day. The study has also revealed us that rural based Indians consume about 94 Kcal fruits and vegetables while the urban based Indians eat around 140 Kcal of fruits and vegetables while the recommended value is 204 Kcal per day. Indians living both in rural and urban areas are found to consume far lesser quantities of added fats than what is recommended.
More light on the eating trends of Indians
The study tells us that major carbohydrate sources make up 0 to 60 percent of the energy in humans while protein foods contribute to only 15 percent of the energy intake. The study has also discovered that the prices of foods is one strong reason why people are unable to afford healthy diet. Fruits and vegetables are especially expensive and they make up one third of the total cost of foods in South Asia. Meat is also found to be expensive. People living in South Asian countries like India are unable to afford enough protein based foods than carb sources.
Advertisement
EAT-Lancet published the results of its three-year long study in January that contains a lot of useful insights regarding the food consumption trends noticed in Indians. While recommending an intake of 2,500 Kcal food a day, the study enjoins people to move from processed flour (carbs) to more of whole grains (proteins). The other recommendations by the study include decreasing animal foods and increasing plant based foods. The recommendations aim at achieving better human health and moving away from foods that are environmentally unsustainable, especially red meat to be specific. Mint has discovered that Indians consume more carbs, sugars and processed foods that what can be approved. Also, they are found to eat less protein and less fruits and vegetables than what is advised.
Recommended values in grams
Nutrition experts recommend consuming 282 grams of carbohydrates per day. Rural based Indians are found to consume about 432 grams of carbohydrates in an average while urban based Indians consume around 347 grams of carbs in an average. While the recommended quantity of proteins per day is 459 grams, rural based Indians take in only about 194 grams of proteins in an average while urban based Indians intake slightly more quantity estimated at 242 grams per day in an average. Thus, while the carbs intake of Indian seems to be higher than the recommended values, the intake of protein falls short significantly both in the rural and urban areas.
Recommended daily calorific intake
Advertisement
More light on the eating trends of Indians
The study tells us that major carbohydrate sources make up 0 to 60 percent of the energy in humans while protein foods contribute to only 15 percent of the energy intake. The study has also discovered that the prices of foods is one strong reason why people are unable to afford healthy diet. Fruits and vegetables are especially expensive and they make up one third of the total cost of foods in South Asia. Meat is also found to be expensive. People living in South Asian countries like India are unable to afford enough protein based foods than carb sources.