The Indian Council of Medical Research–National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN)-led 'Let's Fix Our Food' Consortium released a comprehensive policy document titled 'Priority Policy Actions to Promote Healthier Diets and Food Environments for Children and Adolescents in India' on July 22, 2026. The document outlines evidence-based recommendations developed through nearly three years of multidisciplinary research, stakeholder consultations, and policy dialogues aimed at addressing the growing burden of overweight, obesity, and diet-related non-communicable diseases among India's youth.
The policy recommendations span multiple key areas including healthy school food environments, nutrition literacy programs, front-of-pack nutrition labeling, regulation of marketing of unhealthy food to children, taxation of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS), promotion of healthier dietary fats, salt reduction initiatives, low-sodium salt substitutes, social and behaviour change communication, youth engagement strategies, and fiscal measures to promote healthier diets.
The launch event took place at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi during the LFOF Dissemination and Consultation Workshop, presided over by Dr. M. Srinivas, Member (Health) of NITI Aayog. The consortium represents a multi-institutional national platform including Resolve to Save Lives India, UNICEF India, Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Public Health Foundation of India, WHO, FSSAI, IEG, WFP, Lady Irwin College, IFPRI, Deakin University, and other national and international partners.
Several knowledge products were simultaneously launched including the LFOF website, the Nutrition Environment Assessment Toolkit for Schools (NEAT-S) with its accompanying report, an e-learning module on understanding food labels, and a suite of ICMR-NIN educational resources on fats, sugars, and salt designed to strengthen nutrition literacy among children and adolescents.
Dr. Bharati Kulkarni, Director of ICMR-NIN, emphasized the organization's commitment to generating high-quality evidence and fostering partnerships that translate research into public health action. Prof. K. Srinath Reddy of PHFI highlighted the need for comprehensive policy interventions addressing commercial, social, and environmental determinants of unhealthy diets. Marie-Claude Desilets of UNICEF India noted that malnutrition now encompasses both undernutrition and rising obesity driven by unhealthy diets, emphasizing every child's right to a healthy food environment.
The workshop featured presentations of new evidence generated by consortium partners on school food environments, unhealthy food marketing, nutrition education, dietary behaviours, fiscal policy options, and nutrition environment assessments across multiple Indian states, concluding with thematic discussions on translating evidence into actionable policy recommendations.