India is experiencing what many experts are calling a dietary health crisis: the rapid rise of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) across retail outlets, homes, and vending shelves. A new three-paper Series published in The Lancet warns that sales of ultra-processed foods in India have grown explosively  from just US$ 0.9 billion in 2006 to nearly US$ 38 billion by 2019, marking a forty-fold increase.

These ultra-processed food products  which often contain high levels of sugar, salt, fat, and artificial additives  are not innocuous. The report links their proliferation to rising rates of obesity, type-2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases in India. Experts note that UPFs are increasingly replacing traditional, minimally processed diets, especially among young people and urban populations  a trend that could undermine India’s long-standing food and nutrition heritage. 

Public health researchers across the Lancet Series argue that this issue goes beyond individual choice: it’s systemic. Aggressive marketing by food corporations, celebrity endorsements, deep-pocketed advertising campaigns, and easy availability of UPFs are creating an “unhealthy food environment” that promotes consumption.  The authors are calling for urgent policy interventions  including front-of-pack warning labels, restrictions on marketing to children, and incentives to make nutritious foods more accessible. 

Beyond obesity and diabetes, the rise in UPF consumption exacerbates deeper nutritional challenges. Studies show that many ultra-processed foods contribute empty calories while lacking essential micronutrients, leading to a “double burden” of malnutrition: overnutrition in calories, but undernutrition in vitamins and minerals.As UPFs continue to dominate packaged food markets across India, health policy experts emphasize that addressing this trend is not just a matter of public education  real reform in production, labeling, and regulation is needed before the health consequences become irreversible.