{"id":669,"date":"2026-09-02T23:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T23:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/health.dzwonkinatelefon.net\/more-than-labels-health-choices\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T23:00:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T23:00:40","slug":"more-than-labels-health-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/?p=669","title":{"rendered":"More than labels: health choices"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For many years now, activists in India have been fighting an uphill battle: getting healthy foods on the plates of people, both adults and children. What are they up against? A steady stream of ultraprocessed food, food that is high in fat, sugar and sodium, labels that either do not warn consumers or do so in text that is not displayed prominently, misleading claims about the \u2018health\u2019 benefits of certain food, unfettered advertisements, and worst of all, food sold in India that is unhealthier compared to the same items sold abroad.<\/p>\n

What is at stake? The metabolic health of millions of Indians. We know that bad diets can contribute to obesity, which in turn can contribute to hypertension, diabetes and a host of other issues. This week, we look at developments in the diet and health sector, spurred by the Supreme Court\u2019s criticism of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the country\u2019s food regulator, and what has followed.<\/p>\n

Battle against Big Food<\/h4>\n

The FSSAI, long lambasted for allowing big food brands to get away with misleading advertisements, and for taking no action on warning labels on unhealthy foods, has now submitted a proposal in the Supreme Court for a front-of-pack pictorial warning label for food products high in any two or more \u201cnutrients of concern\u201d, reports Krishnadas Rajagopal<\/b>. And while this a definite step forward, Bindu Shajan Perappadan<\/b> interviews an activist who points out that the \u2018two or more\u2019 condition still leaves critical gaps in the framework.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, the FSSAI has also begun a crackdown on claims: it has issued more than 150 notices to food companies over misleading advertisements, false claims and labelling violations. Nestl\u00e9 India, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola India, Abbott India, Red Bull India, Danone India, Monster Energy India, Ferrero India and Kenvue are among companies named by the regulator. Bournvita maker Mondelez India Foods has now withdrawn health and nutrient-comparison claims, along with related advertisements from e-commerce platforms.<\/p>\n

Is Big Food taking this lying down? Not if you go by this Reuters<\/i> report. Not only are they fighting against warning labels, they are selling products in India that are far more unhealthy than products sold elsewhere. Rishita Khanna<\/b> discusses this in a podcast. Do give it a listen.<\/p>\n

And finally, dive into Dr. C. Aravinda and Dr. T.B. Pritish Basakaran\u2019s story on FSSAI looking into liquor labels as well.<\/p>\n

Developments in cancer<\/h4>\n

Cancer is never quite out of the news is it? There\u2019s good news and news that requires some reflection this week. In the good news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a groundbreaking new drug for advanced pancreatic cancer. The daily pills will be sold by Revolution Medicines under the brand name Rasonque. Also, following on last week\u2019s news of an mRNA tumour vaccine that showed promising results in a melanoma trial, Dr. Harish P.<\/b> delves into how tumour vaccines work, and if they could herald a revolution in cancer treatment.<\/p>\n

In other news, R. Sujatha<\/b>, examines a new study on childhood cancer in India and speaks to experts about why, when many cancers in children have high cure rates, children in India still face barriers in accessing and adhering to treatment.<\/p>\n

For a quick explainer of what Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia or CLL is, do read Shrabana Chatterjee\u2019s piece.<\/p>\n

The Meta settlement<\/h4>\n

On August 26, social media giant, Meta, reached a settlement of up to $17.1 billion with at least 47 U.S. States, with certain conditions on how Meta should change its safety features on Instagram and Facebook. The lawsuit alleged that Meta regularly collected data on children under the age of 13 without parental consent, and that the company deliberately designed platforms to be addictive. Joan Sony Cherian <\/b>writes a detailed explainer on the suit and the settlement, while Sahana Venugopal<\/b> explains the new safety features to be rolled out, and asks the crucial question of how effectively they can be enforced. We\u2019ll have to wait and watch to see how this pans out.<\/p>\n

Mental health concerns<\/h4>\n

Students have been at the forefront of the news in India for weeks now. After decades of being told what to do and when to do it, students have now said enough: they want their concerns prioritised, and rightly so. IIT Delhi has been on the boil of late, following the death by suicide of a student, reports Ashna Butani<\/b>. Academic pressure and inaccessible mental health services have been flagged, concerns that extend to the rest of India as well.<\/p>\n

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru is attempting to bring in some of that accessibility, writes Afshan Yasmeen<\/b>, with its anonymous peer-support platform, Let\u2019s Talk Life, \u00a0where young people can share their concerns and seek emotional support without fear of judgement.<\/p>\n

And in tech-related mental health news, Hemanth C.S.<\/b> reports that scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research have developed a low-cost, user-friendly point-of-care diagnostic system for the detection of Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

And more:<\/b><\/p>\n

Biohacking is gaining popularity, but how safe is it? Read Ramya Kannan<\/b>\u2019s explainer on why a \u2018peptide party\u2019 was banned in Bengaluru<\/p>\n

Your haemoglobin level may be normal, but could you still be iron deficient? Athira Elssa Johnson<\/b>\u2019s article explains how that may happen<\/p>\n

\u2018Fairness\u2019 may not be the word used anymore, but the desire for skin lightening persists. Dr. Monisha Madhumita<\/b> writes about how this quest could go wrong<\/p>\n

When do you actual need an MRI or CT scan for your back? Dr. S.R. Patil<\/b> tells you, here<\/p>\n

In Keralam, C. Maya<\/b> highlights the shortage of donor corneas as a major impediment to the State\u2019s fight against corneal blindness.<\/p>\n

In Tamil Nadu, Meenakshy S.<\/b> writes on the lack of genetic testing at government hospitals, which leaves parents of babies born with intersex traits reliant on expensive, private tests.<\/p>\n

Do watch our Health Wrap video of the week, explaining the science behind the ritual of fire walking!<\/p>\n

There is much more on offer too, do head to our\u00a0health\u00a0page<\/u>\u00a0and subscribe to the\u00a0health\u00a0newsletter\u00a0here<\/u>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On food safety and front-of-pack warnings, new developments in cancer treatment, the Meta settlement and the growing concerns around social media\u2019s impact on children, student mental health, genetic testing, eye health, and more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthcare.hibisports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}