Is calorie intake the fundamental driver of noncommunicable diseases in India - A systematic review

Nutrition epidemiology initially focused on few nutrients thought to be responsible for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The database of Indian Nutrition Survey is based majorly on calorie intake.

The objective was to compare the change in the average calorie intake from 1990 to 2012 with the emerging epidemic of diabetes and hypertension (HTN) in India since 1990.

A comprehensive search was made in National Library of Medicine's PubMed database and Google Scholar from March to August 2018, on the above-mentioned subjects. Reports of national surveys (National Sample Survey Office and National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau) were included for average calorie intake among different states from year 1990 onward. Region-wise search depicted by national nutrition surveys resulted in 277 and 587 abstracts on the prevalence of HTN and diabetes mellitus, respectively. There were 51 full-text articles and abstracts on the prevalence of HTN and diabetes from the above regions.

The average calorie intake per capita per day in the four zones of country in rural areas decreased from 1990 to 2012. An increasing trend in the prevalence of diabetes from rural areas was observed from 1994 to 2012. The per capita average calorie intake per day in urban areas from 1999 through 2011 in all zones except the eastern part of country was on rise. There was no consistent trend in the prevalence of HTN in any of the zones.

It is not just an increase in calories, but a trade-off between the demand for calories and the demand for healthy lifestyles determines the prevalence of NCDs.