High-Carbohydrate Indian Diets Driving Diabetes Epidemic, Landmark Study Reveals
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: Typical Indian diets, with over 60%of calories from low-quality carbohydrates, are fuelling a national crisis of diabetes and obesity, a landmark study has found.
Published today in Nature Medicine, the research shows these dietary patterns are linked to an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes by as much as 40%. The 15-year study, conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), analysed the diets of 18,090 adults across every region of the country.
It found the average Indian diet is dangerously imbalanced, drawing a staggering 62% of its energy from carbohydrates – often from refined sources like white rice, milled flours and added sugar. Meanwhile, protein intake was found to be suboptimal at just 12% of daily calories, and saturated fat intake exceeded recommended health thresholds in all but four states.
The study’s modelling showed that replacing just 5% of daily calories from carbohydrates with protein from plants or dairy was associated with a significantly lower risk of developing diabetes.
Map represents the top three cereal staples reported by the weighted percentage of the study population in each state. Photo: Nature Medicine.
“Our findings clearly show that typical Indian diets, heavy in carbohydrates from white rice or whole wheat flour, and low in quality protein are putting millions at risk,” said Dr R.M. Anjana, the study's lead author. “Simply switching from white rice to whole wheat or millets is not enough unless total carbohydrate intake decreases.”
Researchers believe the findings should be an urgent wake-up call for public health policy. Dr V. Mohan, the paper's senior author, called for sweeping reforms to reshape the nation's food production and consumption habits.
“These nationwide findings should inspire policy reforms... to help Indians shift towards diets richer in plant-based and dairy proteins,” he said.
The authors propose concrete actions, including extending the government's Minimum Support Prices (MSP), a price guarantee for farmers currently focused on cereals, to protein-rich crops like pulses and legumes. They argue that such a move would improve the availability and affordability of protein and help reverse the country's dangerous nutrition trends.
This article went live on October third, two thousand twenty five, at fifty-seven minutes past one in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.