Social media to help promote healthy food habits

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has turned to social media for the promotion of healthy food habits in schoolchildren. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the ministry has recently drafted guidelines on junk food, advising schools to use social networking sites to spread awareness about the ill-effects of consuming unhealthy food.

"With the advent of information technology, television, newspapers, and Internet and social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, schools can spread messages related to risks associated with the consumption of unhealthy food. The message can be spread by schools nationwide to sensitise parents and guardians," the draft guidelines say. "Dedicated web pages on school websites and other social media sites would assist children and guide them to consume foods with high nutritious value like foodgrain, pulses, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Student clubs and groups should be formed for sensitising and advertising the ill-effects of consuming unhealthy food among peer groups," the guidelines further say.

The FSSAI has also given suggestions to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to loop in television channels and other mass media for spreading the mantra of healthy food habits.

"The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regulates communication media, including the audio-visual, print and the Internet. Guidelines related to quality of food products advertised in Indian media should be urgently formulated. The principles can include norms, including size, content, nutrition and health benefits of the food marketed to children," the guidelines say.

Other salient features of the guidelines are on maintaining hygiene in school canteens and conducting regular quality checks for cooked and stored food. The dietary guidelines have been drawn after a survey designed to account for the heterogeneity of schools, as well as their spread. The survey was conducted in urban as well as rural areas of the country, covering 600 schools in six zones and 12 states. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Nutrition analysed the findings of the survey.

Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court directed the FSSAI to frame an effective policy and guidelines to ban the sale of junk food and carbonated drinks in and around educational institutions across the country. The High Court passed the order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed in 2010 by Uday Foundation, an NGO based in the national Capital. The NGO points out that junk food damages health and hampers the mental growth of children. The foundation had sought a ban on the sale of junk food in schools and within 500 metres of educational institutions.

- Daily Mail