A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE HEALTH STATUS OF YOUNG INDIAN ADULTS INDICATES A POSITIVE IMPACT OF TRADITIONAL INDIAN DIETARY PRACTICES

Abstract

India is a vast country with diverse food habits, but all the traditional Indian dietary practices consist of grains, pulses, fruits, dairy, and vegetables with or without fish, poultry, and eggs. The benefits of Ayurvedic supplements are well established, contributing to the lowering of various metabolic factors like blood pressure, inflammation, and cholesterol. The COVID-19 pandemic, due to lockdown measures adopted by governments ensured the primary consumption of home-cooked food aligned with the traditional dietary practices of India. While increased consumption of fast food, sugary drinks, snacks, etc. has been correlated with the health parameters of youth in many countries across the world, our study indicates that young adults in India of the age group 17-21 had improved health status after the pandemic-induced isolation. A comparative study of undergraduate students at the University of Delhi was conducted to analyze the impact of the primary consumption of home-cooked traditional food. The health parameters observed in 2023 were compared to a previous study conducted by the group in 2018. As opposed to the global trend, we saw a drop in obesity (based on BMI) from 29% of the subjects in 2018 to 5% in 2023. The subjects with a very high total body fat (TBF) percentage also saw a drop from 34% to 22% for male subjects, and 32% to 26% for female subjects. There was a mild increase in subjects with high visceral adipose tissue (VAT) percentage levels, from 4% in 2023 compared to none in 2018. A spike was also observed in blood pressure (BP). The primary consumption of home-cooked Indian cuisine by participants during the lockdown and increased intake of nutritional and ayurvedic supplements may have led to lower obesity and TBF%. Meanwhile, a sedentary lifestyle and exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus may have caused the increase in VAT% and BP respectively. Further studies can carried out to help us better understand the impact of traditional Indian dietary practices on health parameters.