ICMR Releases Upgraded ‘Dietary Guidelines’ For Indians

The Indian Council of Medical Research-ICMR has released an upgraded ‘Dietary Guidelines for Indians to suit the modern eating habits of 2024.

Framed by researchers from the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition-NIN, the modern dietary guidelines specifically advise people to be physically active, exercise regularly, restrict intake of salt, minimize high fat, sugar and ultra-processed foods and take steps to prevent abdominal obesity, overweight and overall obesity.

The NIN in the report has framed 17 dietary guidelines that emphasize on health promotion and disease prevention across all age groups with special attention on healthy diets.

DG, ICMR, Dr Rajiv Bahl, released the report and said the dietary habits of Indians have undergone significant changes over the past decades, leading to an increase in



the prevalence of non-communicable diseases.He said these fresh dietary guidelines are now relevant to the changing food scenario with addition of practicable messages and suggestions on handling food safety, choosing minimally processed foods, importance of food labels and physical activity.

According to the guidelines, individuals from all age groups must pursue a minimum of at least 30 to 45 minutes of physical activity of moderate intensity for good health. Regular physical activity of at least 60 minutes per day among children can prevent overweight and obesity.

The ICMR-NIN has advised people to consume iodized salt, restrict intake of added salt to a maximum of 5 gm per day and has urged people to develop a taste for food-diets that are low in salt from an early age.