“Health consciousness does not mean only consulting a doctor and going to diagnostic laboratory for certain tests advised by the doctor but it is also about quality and quantity of food products both children and adults take.”
The recent reports about unprecedented rise in the patient footfall at most of the referral hospitals in Srinagar particularly SMHS hospital Srinagar that went viral on social media sites have triggered a debate over the spread of some critical diseases the root causes of which according to medical experts lie in the unprecedented changes in food habits and life styles of the people witnessed during last more than a decade now. With the change in food habits of the people it has been found that ingredients in fast food items lavishly used by the people of all age groups trigger diseases like diabetes and hypertension. However on the contrary it has been also noticed that change in business activities have also contributed to the changes in the food habits of the people. Interestingly the Central Government’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a recent directive to e-commerce platforms asked them to remove Bournvita and similar beverages from the ‘health drink’ category not only for the purposes of the healthy safety of the children but also for making people aware about the health risks involved in the consumption of such food products by children at a very early age. Health consciousness does not mean only consulting a doctor and going to diagnostic laboratory for certain tests advised by the doctor but it is also about quality and quantity of food products both children and adults take despite getting words of restrain from the medical experts . In yet another move related to health consciousness of the people the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has recently said that dairy, cereal or malt-based beverages should not be labeled as ‘health’ or ‘energy’ drinks and this clarification from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India demands wide publicity by the J&K Food Safety departments for the purposes of improving the health conscious of the people in Jammu & Kashmir on this count.
“Fortunately some of the veteran medical experts of Jammu & Kashmir are now uploading videos about the change in food habits and life styles of the people just to update them about risks involved in consuming certain food products in higher quantities. While the initiatives of the health experts to raise the level of health consciousness of the people about the consumption of certain food products are laudable, it is for the Government to boost the initiatives of the health consciousness of the medical experts by holding manufacturers, retailers and e-commerce platforms accountable for the quality of the food products they supply to people”.
Unfortunately the advisories issued from different food regulating agencies of the Central Government are not getting the wide publicity they demand for the purposes of raising the health conscious among the people not only in Jammu & Kashmir but also in most of the States and Union Territories of the country. Fortunately some of the veteran medical experts of Jammu & Kashmir are now uploading videos about the change in food habits and life styles of the people just to update them about risks involved in consuming certain food products in higher quantities. While the initiatives of the health experts to raise the level of health consciousness of the people about the consumption of certain food products are laudable, it is for the Government to boost the initiatives of the health consciousness of the medical experts by holding manufacturers, retailers and e-commerce platforms accountable for the quality of the food products they supply to people.
