What are Poshan Maah and Eat Right India Movement?
The Indian Government has shown high concern on the number of rising lifestyle diseases in the country. Diseases like diabetes, heart ailments, and posture issues are becoming increasingly common in the Indian population due to our food habits and our sedentary lifestyles. Indians are increasingly relying on junk food and this has caused a surge in cases of diabetes in the country, earning for India the infamous title of the diabetes capital of the world.
A person falling prey to such diseases is a loss of economic productivity to the country and hence, the Indian Government is focusing on healthy eating programs. Two such endeavors of the Indian Government to promote healthy eating in India are the Poshan Maah and Eat Right Movement.
Poshan Maah
The 2019 Poshan Maah (English – nutrition month) was launched by the Union Minister for Health who stated that India needs to adopt a holistic approach towards healthy food habits in the country which will promote the health and sustainability. The Indian Government will organize various events and programs to motivate the people to take up healthy and nutritious foods for a healthy living.
Eat Right India
The ‘Eat Right India’ drive is being pushed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The Eat Right movement, which aims to motivate people to have the right approach towards their food selection and is also aligned with the keystone public health programs of the Indian Government like the Poshan Abhiyaan, the Anaemia-mukt Bharat, the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, and the Swachh Bharat Mission for improving Indian healthcare and lifestyles.
Need for the Poshan Maah and the Eat Right Movement
India needs a public movement on preventive and promotive health given that several non-communicable lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases are increasing in the country. In children, widespread deficiencies of vitamins and essential minerals have been observed. This has also led to the rise in rampant food-borne illnesses.
Thus, there is a need for the Indian population to adopt a healthy diet and do physical exercise. There is also a need to avoid tobacco and alcohol to prevent lifestyle diseases.
