Dietary profile of urban adult population in South India in the context of chronic disease epidemiology (CURES – 68)

Abstract

Objective: Few dietary surveys have been done with reference to chronic diseases, such as diabetes, in India, which is considered to be the diabetes capital of the world. We report on the dietary intake of urban adults living in Chennai, South India. Design: A population-based cross-sectional study. Setting: A representative population of urban Chennai in southern India. Subjects: The study population comprised 2042 individuals aged $20 years selected from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiological Study (CURES). Dietary intake was measured using a validated and previously published interviewer-administered semi-quantitative meal-based FFQ. Results: The mean daily energy intake was 10 393 (SD 2347) kJ (male: 10 953 (SD 2364) kJ v. female: 9832 (SD 233) kJ). Carbohydrates were the major source of energy (64 %), followed by fat (24 %) and protein (12 %). Refined cereals contributed to the bulk of the energy (45?8 %), followed by visible fats and oils (12?4 %) and pulses and legumes (7?8 %). However, energy supply from sugar and sweetened beverages was within the recommended levels. Intake of micronutrient-rich foods, such as fruit and vegetable consumption (265 g/d), and fish and seafoods (20 g/d), was far below the FAO/WHO recommendation. Dairy and meat products intake was within the national recommended intake. Conclusions: The diet of this urban South Indian population consists mainly of refined cereals with low intake of fish, fruit and vegetables, and all of these could possibly contribute to the risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes in this population. At the end of 20th century, India had rapid progress in controlling communicable diseases and the socioeconomic status of people has shown marked improvement. However, ageing of the population and altered lifestyles (unhealthy diets and physical inactivity) have contributed to the increase in the prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity and CVD (1) . According to recent estimates, India leads the world with the largest number of persons with type 2 diabetes (50?8 million) (2) . In all, 53 % of all deaths and 44 % of disability-adjusted life-years lost in India in 2005 could be attributed to chronic disease (including cancer, coronary artery disease, CVD, hypertension and diabetes) (3) . The common factors with regard to diabetes and its rising prevalence rates are increased insulin resistance, stronger genetic factors and environmental factors, particularly those associated with urbanisation (4) . Although genetic factors (5) and physical inactivity (6) have been shown to explain, at least in part, the diabetes epidemic, there is paucity of data on the dietary intake of the population. In many developing countries, food-related policies continue to focus only on undernutrition, and do not address the prevention of chronic diseases, which are primarily due to overnutrition (7,8) . Moreover, large national surveys such as National Sample Survey Organization do not provide an insight into the actual dietary intak...

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