Junk food in schools and obesity; One man's quest to reduce the incidence of diabetes in India Multinational companies have developed strategies to increase sales in different countries with their junk food offerings. Our blog reported on the growing problem of growing waistlines in Brazil as Nestle developed their junk food offerings in the country. Brazilians on average were 20% heavier as more people consumed their products that were low on nutrition and high in calories. Diabetes was becoming a problem as well in a country that for years had a diet that was based on meals rather than prepared or snack foods. Rahul Verma’s son, who was born gravely ill discovered through his endocrinologist about the growing problem with junk food. He met children who put on a lot of weight eating snacks such as potato chips that are high in calories but low in nutrition. According to the NY Times "Since 1990, the percent of children and adults in India who are overweight or obese has almost tripled to 18.8 percent from 6.4 percent, according to data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington." The companies that sell junk food in schools and the children are developing poor eating habits while gaining weight. Mr. Verma's story is about someone taking on an industry that can potentially harm their children and make people in his country less healthy. Check out the story here One Man’s Stand Against Junk Food as Diabetes Climbs Across India India is “sitting on a volcano” of diabetes. A father’s effort to ban junk food sales in and near schools aims to change what children eat. By GEETA ANANDDEC. 26, 2017 NEW DELHI — Rahul Verma’s son was born gravely ill with digestive problems, but over years of visits to the boy’s endocrinologist, Mr. Verma saw the doctor grow increasingly alarmed about a different problem, one threatening healthy children. Junk food, the doctor warned, was especially dangerous to Indians, who are far more prone to diabetes than people from other parts of the world. One day in the doctor’s waiting room, Mr. Verma noticed a girl who had gotten fat by compulsively eating potato chips. He decided he had to do something. “On one side you have children like my son, who are born with problems,” said Mr. Verma, “and on the other side you have children who are healthy and everything is fine and you are damaging them giving them unhealthy food.” Read More