Promotion Of Healthy Food Choices In India: Issues And Challenges

Abstract

Accessibility of healthy food is a of paramount importance for the development of the nation. Healthy food contributes to improved cognitive function and physical well-being of the citizens. Such citizens then contribute in improving productivity of a nation, improving it’s over all GDP. India’s poor performance in Global Hunger Index is an indication of poor consumption of healthy food in India. One of the most prominent reason for less consumption is affordability factor of healthy food. Affordability of food has direct relation with the promotion of healthy food choices.Consumers at times are not ready to pay extra money for healthy food. Food vendors for instance restaurant use unhealthy ingredients to reduce the cost of production of food item. Healthy food consumption is also vital for achieving SDGs particularly SDG 1, SDG 2 and SDG 3. SDG 1 aims to eradicate poverty while SDG 2 aims to eradicate hunger. SDG 3 emphasises on overall well being for which consumption of healthy food is vital.This paper is an attempt to explore the ways in which healthy food can be made more affordable there by promoting its consumption among the consumers. It also deals with challenges of increasing healthy food consumption.