Nutrition isn’t just about avoiding illness — it’s about giving children the fuel they need to grow, learn, and flourish.
Published May 28, 2025 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated May 28, 2025 | 7:00 AM
For the first time, schools are not just promoting vague “eat healthy” messages, but addressing specific dietary risks like added sugar.
Synopsis: The CBSE’s initiative to educate students about the dangers of added sugar is part of a broader push to encourage better food habits among young people — a timely effort given the rising rates of childhood obesity, type-2 diabetes, and poor oral health. Schools are expected to roll out awareness campaigns, food literacy workshops, and label-reading sessions to help children make more informed choices.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) made an important move this month: It directed affiliated schools to educate students about the health risks of added sugar. It’s a welcome and much-needed step.
For the first time, thousands of schools across India are having open conversations about how too much sugar can harm growing bodies.
This initiative is part of a broader push to encourage better food habits among young people — a timely effort given the rising rates of childhood obesity, type-2 diabetes, and poor oral health. Schools are expected to roll out awareness campaigns, food literacy workshops, and label-reading sessions to help children make more informed choices.
But this leads to an important question: How do we ensure that what’s taught in school resonates at home, especially in a country where sugar still carries a deep cultural association with care, energy, and nourishment?
In many Indian households, glucose biscuits are more than just snacks — they’re trusted, familiar, and often shared with affection. They are affordable, widely available, and seen as a healthier option than obvious treats like chocolates or colas. However, a typical 50-gram pack can contain more than six teaspoons of sugar, alongside refined flour and oils — ingredients that offer energy, but little nutrition.
Despite this, glucose biscuits continue to be part of school tiffins, anganwadi meals, and even health camps — largely because they are convenient and considered “safe.”
This isn’t about blame — it’s about bridging a knowledge gap. Many caregivers genuinely believe they’re making a healthy choice. The CBSE initiative opens the door for a broader conversation on how we define “healthy” in our daily diets.
India faces a unique nutritional paradox. On one hand, over a third of children under five are stunted due to undernutrition. On the other hand, lifestyle conditions like obesity and diabetes are rising, even among the young. A 2023 study in The Lancet found that more than 100 million Indians are living with diabetes — including growing numbers under 25.
In such a scenario, affordable foods that seem filling — like glucose biscuits — become go-to choices, especially in households dealing with food insecurity. The problem is that these foods often provide calories, but not the nutrients children need to grow and thrive.
The CBSE’s move is a landmark moment. For the first time, schools are not just promoting vague “eat healthy” messages, but addressing specific dietary risks like added sugar. This helps children understand their food in real terms — what’s in it, how it affects them, and what they can choose instead.
It also signals that food literacy deserves a central place in education, just like reading or math. But for this effort to be truly impactful, it must be supported at home — and that requires empowering caregivers with the right information, tools, and alternatives.
If we want real change, we must make nutrition a collective responsibility — involving schools, families, communities, and even food manufacturers. Here’s how:
1. Community nutrition campaigns
Let’s take the sugar conversation beyond classrooms. Through TV, radio, WhatsApp messages, and local health workers, we can start community-level conversations about added sugar and its effects — using language and examples that resonate across generations.
2. Clearer food labels
Simple, front-of-pack warnings like “High in Sugar” can make it easier for families to make informed choices. Countries like Chile and Mexico have seen real results from such labeling — India can, too.
3. Revamping school and anganwadi snacks
Instead of biscuits, schools and anganwadis can offer local, nutritious snacks like boiled eggs, ragi ladoos, fruits, nuts or sprouted pulses. These options are rich in nutrients and culturally familiar.
4. Affordable, healthy alternatives
Policy support can make healthier foods more accessible. This could include subsidies for nutrient-rich staples, incentives for local food entrepreneurs, and improved supply chains for fruits, millets, and pulses.
5. Responsible Food Marketing
We can work with brands to ensure that their claims — especially those targeting children — are accurate and transparent. Regulations that limit the marketing of high-sugar foods to kids could help shift perceptions over time.
Nutrition isn’t just about avoiding illness — it’s about giving children the fuel they need to grow, learn, and flourish. The CBSE has taken a commendable first step by prioritizing food literacy. Now, it’s time for all of us — families, educators, health workers, and policymakers — to carry that momentum forward.
By aligning what we teach in school with what’s available at home, we can create a healthier food environment for all children. Not by removing love from the lunchbox — but by adding a more nourishing and healthier portion of love.
(Dr Suma Uday is Senior Consultant – Paediatric Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Bone Disease, at Narayana Health City, Bengaluru. Edited by Majnu Babu).
