What does India need to bridge the protein gap?

One of the deciding factors of sound physical and mental wellbeing is good nutrition. The importance of good nutrition cannot be over-stressed, especially now more than ever, as entire nations are amidst an interminable battle with the coronavirus. Yet, India is also suffering from several silent nutrition deficiencies that need immediate attention.

Protein, a much-ignored nutrient, is vital for building good immunity, muscle strength and crucial enzymes for the body. However, India is staring at a potential protein deficiency in her citizens in the coming years. The NSSO surveys conducted by the Indian government have been showing year after year a declining trend in protein consumption in rural and urban households for the past 3 decades.

As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) an average adult should consume between 0.8 to 1g of protein per kg of body weight every day. However, the average Indian adult is consuming closer to 0.6g, thereby not meeting the daily protein requirement.

India also fares poorly in its protein consumption as compared to other regions. As per the World Resources Institute estimates, while India consumes an average of 47g of protein per day, China, Latin America and the Middle East are consuming more than 70g of protein per day. The average individual in Europe and USA consumes close to 90g of protein every day.

Globally the issues of inadequate protein consumption have been observed to be particularly severe in developing and under-developed countries, characterised diseases such as ‘Kwashiorkor’ and ‘Marasmus’ – severe conditions of protein energy malnutrition in children. Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) is the most lethal form of malnutrition and contributes to around 45% deaths of children under the age of five globally. India too has been struggling to eliminate the horrors of PEM, where as a result of PEM, 37% of Indian children were stunted, 21% wasted and 34% were underweight in 2014- 15

Protein deficiencies also manifest in adults causing muscle loss, weak immunity, cardiac and respiratory conditions as well as poor wound healing. It can also lead to a life-threatening condition of severe hyperproteinaemia, where a person has very low blood levels of protein. Long term protein deficiencies can also have macroeconomic implications for an economy through the loss of precious man hours of work and productivity due to fatigue and muscle loss. This can have serious consequences for a nation where a majority of the workforce is employed in prolonged hours of gruelling manual labour such as agriculture, construction and manufacturing.

So, what does India need to do to adjust its sails and avoid an impending nationwide deficiency? Protein deficiency today remains an under-debated issue in India, making it not just a public health problem, but also a behavioural one. The need of the hour is to build protein awareness in India and trigger a long-term behaviour change among citizens to fulfil their daily protein requirements. This is crucial as a 2017 survey by Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) found that 73% of urban rich Indians are protein deficient and 93% are unaware about their daily protein requirements.

The Government of India, with its vast reach and resources, is one of the most important drivers of nutritional well-being of the Indian population. The Indian Government is also the controller of one of the largest food stocks in the world, through the public distribution system (PDS) which is a powerful influencer of how households at the lower end of the income pyramid choose what they eat. Thus, it is imperative that the Government initiate the discourse on protein not just through awareness campaigns but also through practical nudges to citizens in its food subsidies and mid-day meals.

The Right To Protein initiative which aims to educate the people of India on the importance of proteins and champion its sufficiency interviewed over 500 nutrition and health experts in the India’s Protein Paradox Study recently to determine the roles of various stakeholders in bridging the protein gap in India. 75% of these experts believe that the gradual decline in protein consumption is driven mainly by a lack of awareness and misconceptions amongst people. Thus, that the Government and policymakers need to increase and support nutritional conversations and awareness campaigns for public health was agreed upon by 53% of the experts. 45% of the experts also felt that increasing visibility of content about protein by the media and brands is required to tackle the impending deficiency.

Thus, for the Government to be successful, it needs the help of the food producers, the educators, the thinkers, and finally the fourth estate – the media. The food industry has a responsibility to provide better nutritional information to consumers and make investments in healthy food as responsible food firms. One of the greatest challenges is the perception amongst a majority of Indian mothers that the daily Indian diet of roti, dal, rice is enough to meet their protein needs. There is a need to not only debunk this myth, but also offer worthy and affordable alternatives, in the form of protein-fortified foods and plant-based alternatives of protein such as millets, oats and soya bean.

Education institutions can initiate healthy eating campaigns for students and encourage parents to include protein sources in the daily diets. In schools where a mid-day meal is provided to children, the protein constituent of the meal must be assessed and enforced. The absence of food policies in schools and colleges has resulted in the mass supply of unhealthy and unhygienic food in canteens and heavy marketing of nutrient-poor and unhealthy food at such sites. The active participation of parents and teachers in canteen decisions and dedicated sessions on the role of protein and other nutrients for well-being is a must to inculcate the right eating choices at a young age.

Finally, professional services for nutrition management in India are becoming the need of the hour and there is a requirement for more nutritionists, dieticians and training institutes in India. Such professionals can play an important role not only through their personal interactions with individuals but also through their ability to initiate industry wide conversations and become an influencing voice on public forums.

About Right To Protein:

Right To Protein is India’s first awareness initiative to educate citizens about the importance of adequate protein consumption for better nutrition, health and wellbeing. #RightToProtein initiative aspires to build knowledge of different types of protein sources amongst Indians, especially plant protein, to meet larger nutritional goals. Right To Protein aims to develop an ecosystem of professionals to drive protein awareness and debunk myths and misconceptions about protein as a critical macro-nutrient for human health and of many protein foods sources. The ecosystem will aim to improve production and consumption quality and consistency of both, plant and animal proteins. Right To Protein is supported by several like-minded Indian and global individuals, academicians, professionals and institutions. The initiative is open for who would like to join and/or contribute in any capacity, including providing knowledge, technical support or as promotion partners.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ET Edge Insights, its management, or its members

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