Indian culture is renowned for its deep understanding of the importance of good eating and drinking habits. Its traditional practices are based on the idea that consuming the right food and beverages at the right times can have a significant impact on overall health and wellbeing. From offering advice on what to consume before going to bed to what to eat first upon waking up in the morning, Indian culture is well-equipped to provide sensible and scientifically sound advice on healthy eating and drinking habits.
Unfortunately, the prevalence of advertising has impeded our ability to recognize the true value of this invaluable resource. As a result, many young people in our society are consuming junk in the name of food and sugar-laden drinks.
The changed lifestyles and its deadly impact
As the pace of life increases and our day-to-day responsibilities become more demanding, it can be tempting to take shortcuts and embrace a more relaxed, careless approach. But this approach could prove to be as dangerous as deadly.
It is becoming increasingly evident that our current lifestyles are having a detrimental effect on our health. We are seeing a rise in illnesses such as cancer and cardiac arrest in young people and even in children, indicating that our diets and lifestyle are not as healthy as they should be. We have moved away from the natural and healthy lifestyle our ancestors followed and are now consuming sugar, unhealthy carbohydrates, and trans fats in its worst form. To protect our health and that of future generations, it is essential that we return to a natural and healthy lifestyle.
Advertisement: A very vicious tool
Animal husbandry was a common practice in every household, they used to consume fresh milk and its other super beneficiary by-products. Fresh fruits and vegetables were easily available in every household society. But after the industrial revolution as people moved towards urban areas and started chasing luxury and comfort; in parallel, TV was gaining popularity and the advertisement was influencing the people’s mind.
Through effective advertising campaigns and with popular celebrity ties, renowned brands such as Nestle, Kellogg’s, Pepsi co, and Unilever were able to enhance their public profile and significantly increase their success. These companies were able to effectively alter consumer habits and tastes.
Subconsciously, people began to shift their attention to pre-packaged and processed food items, which were advertised as being more efficient and sanitary, but in actuality, they added more calories and fat to the body.
As India is the largest consumer market of milk. Companies introduce ‘malt based’ drink powders and labelled it as a necessary product for the kids in order to grow them stronger and intelligent. Recently Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) tested few ‘malt based’ drink products available in the market like Horlicks, Boost, Complan and others and NAPI stated “Horlicks is a high sugar product, as 100 gram of a popularly advertised pack of Horlicks Delight, contains 78 gram of carbohydrates of which 32 grams is sucrose sugar.”
From Dalia to Oats, Buttermilk to Shakes, Halwa to cakes and puddings, there are many examples when companies have attempted to draw people’s attention away from Indian traditional, healthy and nutritionally superior food items that are laden with chemicals, artificial preservatives and synthetic food colouring.
In today’s completely digtalised world its becomes primary duty of public figures to give serious thought and promote healthy habits and refrain from endorsing unhealthy products which can harm the public at large. In the end It is our responsibility to cultivate beneficial, healthy habits and pass them on to our children. We should be mindful of advertisements that may encourage unhealthy habits and make our life a complete hell.
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