Proteins are missing from children’s plates

Chittaranjan Tembhekar | TNN
 

Mumbai: Instant food is rarely the recipe for nutrition and proteins do not come in packets. Facts that the UNDP health report on Mumbai have highlighted again. The report has concluded that most children in non-slum areas — middle and upper-middle class housing societies — are as malnourished as those in slums. Nutrionists say it may not be far off the mark. The reason is simple: children in slums may not have proper access to food, but other children do not eat proper food. From Colaba to Dahisar, Fort to Mankhurd and Mulund, wrong diets plague children across the city. Nutritionists say nutrient-empty food (with little natural vitamins and minerals) and bad quality of water were a major concern for the city and were affecting the health of average Mumbaikar. A remedy, they said, was to expand lunch hour in schools with
    a strict nutrition-based diet in canteens. Similarly, working women should have a well-cooked tiffin and natural juices.
    “The nutrition transition is due to drastic changes in dietary habbits. People go more according to taste.Malnutrition (lack of iron and Vitamin E deficiency) and over-nutrition (obesity) is affecting every other home,” says nutritionist Vandana Bambawale. Former vice-chancellor of Mumbai University Dr Snehlata Deshmukh, who headed the health survey on behalf of the government and the UNDP, says food can never be a matter of ‘just two minutes’. The pizza-pasta-and-noodles culture has left children with calories but not proteins and v i t a m i n s. Having juices packed with preservatives instead of freshly-made fruit juice has also taken a toll, she pointed out.
    Nutrition expert Naini Setalvad said nutrition is not given importance in Indian homes, adding, “Overcooked food takes away the nutrients.” Families should instill habits like drinking plenty of water, eating fruits and vegetables, cereals and pulses, she prescribes.
FOOD FACTS