A new paper in The Lancet has sounded the alarm on the explosive rise of ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption in India, drawing a stark parallel with the country’s growing obesity crisis.

Retail sales of UPFs—industrial formulations high in fat, sugar, salt and cosmetic additives—rose from just $0.9 billion in 2006 to $38 billion in 2019. During the same period, obesity rates in India doubled.

The findings are part of a three-paper series reviewing global evidence that UPFs are replacing fresh and minimally processed foods, degrading diet quality and driving a surge in chronic diseases.

The 43 researchers behind the report argue that healthier diets cannot depend solely on individual behaviour change. Instead, they call for coordinated policy action to curb UPF production, marketing a

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