Meena Chetty

On my latest visit to India this past summer, I noticed at least one McDonald’s in every city, a Kentucky Fried Chicken at the airport, and most recently, the appearance of Starbucks franchises throughout the country. According to Euromonitor International, a compiler of consumer food service statistics, there were 339 McDonald’s outlets alone in 2013 with an expected 150 new McCafé outlets in the years to come.¹ Furthermore, throughout my trip, I noticed that many packaged foods in India do not provide nutritional information, unlike what is required of all products in the U.S.

Because of weaker food and drug regulations, along with the expansion of the fast food industry, India’s population of obese individuals is increasing. India is the third most obese country in the world, with more than 3% of its population facing obesity according to Obesity Foundation India.²  This trend is prevalent in multiple newly industrialized nations, including Pakistan, South Africa, and China. While the rise of the Indian fast food industry is a sign of economic growth, it comes with the cost of rising obesity due to the lack of adequate health emphasis and education in India.

Globalization plays a significant role in India’s growth in obesity. Of the top ten most popular tourist destinations in India, five are also on the list of the country’s most obese regions. The areas on both these lists see some of the greatest economic advancement due to urbanization.³  Because of the country’s decreasing age profile and growing middle class income, a more experimental nature and interest in the “foreign” is prevalent in cities. As a result, interest in American fast food is peaking. In the past year, Burger King partnered with Everstone, a major Indian real-estate company, to expand the number of outlets throughout the country.⁴

The foreign fast food influence in India is a direct contributor of increasing health issues as a result of the country’s historically weak emphasis on health maintenance. Until recently, public health education in India was only available through medical school, reflecting the inherent lack of focus on health studies for the public.⁵  Verifying the state of physical fitness in India, a 2012 study conducted by the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism found that 59.3 percent of women and 58.5 percent of men lead sedentary lifestyles, verifying the poor state of physical fitness in India. Inactive lifestyles coupled with limited health studies compared to other countries create a weak foundation to counter fast food culture.⁶

The countering prevalence of malnutrition in India makes matters more complicated. The International Food Policy Research Institute has a branch called Partnerships and Opportunities to Strengthen and Harmonize Actions for Nutrition in India (POSHAN) that hosts an annual Together for Nutrition conference focusing on food based health tactics. However, one in three of the world’s malnourished children are from India; as a result, most of POSHAN’s work is centered on alleviating starvation and improving food access for mothers and children. Consequently, the organizations that would normally dedicate time and resources to promote physical activity are instead focused on eliminating malnutrition.⁷

Because the fast food industry is largely based in America, the globalization of our franchises is our responsibility. The fact that these companies are contributing significantly to worsening health conditions in foreign countries with limited access to health awareness should be a trigger for the U.S. to become involved and counteract the negative influence that our businesses are having on international obesity by helping improve the health emphasis in countries that do not have adequate resources to independently do so. The next time I visit India, I hope to have access to the nutritional information of the food I eat.

References:

1. Available at: http://www.euromonitor.com/fast-food-in-india/report. Accessed November 2, 2014.

2. Available at: http://obesityfoundationindia.com/index.htm. Accessed November 2, 2014.

3. Maycock AL, Abeles RH, Salach JI, Singer TP. The structure of the covalent adduct formed by the interaction of 3-dimethylamino-1-propyne and the flavine of mitochondrial amine oxidase. Biochemistry. 1976;15(1):114-25.

4. Available at: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101321608#. Accessed November 2, 2014.

5. Negandhi H, Sharma K, Zodpey SP. History and evolution of public health education in India. Indian J Public Health. 2012;56(1):12-6.

6. Unnikrishnan AG, Kalra S, Garg MK. Preventing obesity in India: Weighing the options. Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2012;16(1):4-6.

7. Available at: http://www.ifpri.org/event/together-nutrition-2014. Accessed November 2, 2014.