Advocacy for Healthy Diets: Nutrition Brief Series
Shaping India’s future through better diets for children, women, and families
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Putting Better Food at the Heart of India’s Future
From the first spoon of food a baby tastes, to the snacks teenagers grab between classes, to the meals women share with their families—what India eats today will shape the country’s tomorrow.
Diets are the foundation of health, learning, and opportunity. Yet, poor nutrition remains a silent crisis: nearly 70% of children under five are anaemic, only 11% receive a minimum acceptable diet, and unhealthy, ultra-processed foods are steadily replacing traditional, balanced meals.
To shine a light on these challenges—and solutions—UNICEF India has launched the Advocacy for Healthy Diets: Nutrition Brief Series. Each brief dives deep into a critical aspect of diets across life stages and social settings, offering evidence, insights, and practical pathways for action.
“The first two years of life are a non-negotiable window for nutrition. What a child eats today determines what they can achieve tomorrow.”
Good nutrition is more than food on a plate—it’s the foundation of lifelong health, learning, and opportunity. UNICEF India’s Advocacy for Healthy Diets series brings together evidence, insights, and strategies to ensure that every child, adolescent, and woman can access the diets they need to grow, thrive, and contribute to India’s future.
The first two years shape lifelong health. Poor diets during this window can cause lasting harm, yet families often face significant barriers to healthy eating. This brief highlights optimal breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, as well as community-level awareness... Read More
What women and girls eat shapes their health, learning, and future. Many face undernutrition, deficiencies, and rising overweight, driven by gender norms and unequal access. This brief urges schools, families, workplaces, and frontline workers to facilitate simple, yet powerful, dietary shifts... Read More
In many Indian households, women and girls often eat last, least, and rarely the best. This inequality undermines nutrition programs and women’s health. Drawing on NFHS and CNNS data, the brief highlights how social norms affect mealtime access and recommends strategies to promote equitable food practices, strengthen women’s agency, and make nutrition programs more inclusive... Read More
Ultra-processed HFSS foods are replacing traditional diets, driving obesity, early diabetes, and NCDs. This brief calls for labelling, marketing limits, healthier school meals, community awareness, and a return to seasonal, local, home-cooked foods... Read More
Healthy diets mean variety, not just full plates. Staple- and processed-heavy diets drive undernutrition and NCDs, while diverse diets boost immunity, resilience, and equity. This brief introduces the Rainbow Diet and practical steps to bring diversity into homes, schools, agriculture, and policy... Read More