Global dietary advice is shifting from isolated nutrient targets toward whole-food dietary patterns, but experts warn that guidance alone cannot improve public health unless food systems make healthy choices affordable and accessible. New guidance-epitomised by the “Eat Real Food” emphasis in the 2025–2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines and reflected in recent Food-Based Dietary Guidelines including India’s 2024 update-prioritises minimally processed foods, dietary diversity and plant-forward patterns while calling for reduced intake of highly processed products, refined carbohydrates and added sugars. Evidence underlining this shift includes the Global Burden of Disease findings that unhealthy diets contributed to an estimated 7.9 million deaths in 2019, EAT–Lancet projections on preventing millions of premature deaths by shifting to plant-rich diets, and a 2024 umbrella review linking high intake of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) to higher risks of mortality, cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and mental health conditions. Nutrition science has also adopted the NOVA classification to distinguish minimally processed foods from UPFs, but researchers caution that processing exists on a continuum and not all processing is harmful. Many staples that improve safety, shelf life or nutrient content-pasteurised milk, fortified cereals, canned pulses, frozen vegetables and fermented foods-play essential roles in nutrition and food security. “For policymakers, therefore, the challenge is not to eliminate processing but to distinguish clearly between beneficial processing and ultra-processing, ensuring that dietary guidance remains evidence‑based rather than ideological,” writes Shoba Suri. The limits of advice are clear in affordability and access: the FAO/WHO State of Food Security and Nutrition reports that roughly 2.8 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet, with South Asia particularly affected. In India the triple burden of malnutrition persists-NFHS‑6 reports 29.3 percent of children under five are stunted while anaemia affects 57 percent of women of reproductive age and 67 percent of young children-even as overweight and obesity rise. These realities mean dietary guidelines must be paired with supportive policies: front‑of‑pack labelling, healthier public procurement, restrictions on marketing to children, fiscal incentives to lower prices of nutritious foods, nutrition‑sensitive agriculture and stronger regulation of UPFs. “For India, the challenge is not simply to encourage healthier food choices but to create policies that make such choices affordable, accessible, culturally acceptable, and environmentally sustainable,” Suri notes. Ultimately, the promise of “Eat Real Food” depends less on new pyramids than on redesigning food systems so the healthiest choice becomes the easiest choice for all.
Original Source: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/the-real-challenge-in-eat-real-food-access-not-just-advice
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Publish Date: 2026-07-31 11:50:00
