faculty

Publications

Dietary profiles and associated metabolic risk factors in India from the ICMR-INDIAB survey-21.

Groups and Associations Anjana, Ranjit Mohan; Sudha, Vasudevan; Abirami, Kuzhandaivelu; Gayathri, Rajagopal; Manasa, Valangaiman Sriram; Deepa, Mohan; Pradeepa, Rajendra; Unnikrishnan, Ranjit; Joshi, Shashank; Saboo, Banshi; Gupta, Arvind; Joshi, Prashant P.; Adhikari, Prabha; Jabbar, Puthiyaveettil Kottayam; Jain, Sunil M.; Chowdhury, Subhankar; Purty, Anil J.; Tripathy, Saroj Kumar; Behera, Sarita; Mahanta, Jagdish; Laxmaiah, Avula; Krishnaswamy, Kamala; Kurpad, Anura Viswanath; Das, Ashok Kumar; Dhaliwal, Rupinder Singh; Kaur, Tanvir; Bhupathiraju, Shilpa N.; Mohan, Viswanathan
Nature medicine 2025

Rapid dietary transitions in India have been associated with an alarming rise in cardiometabolic diseases. Using data from the national Indian Council of Medical  Research-India Diabetes survey (18,090 adults), we examined India's dietary  profile and the effect of isocaloric substitution of carbohydrates with other  macronutrients on metabolic risk. Indian diets are characterized by high intakes  of low-quality carbohydrates (white rice, milled whole grains and added sugar),  high levels of saturated fat and low intakes of protein. Compared to those with  the least carbohydrate intakes, those with the highest intakes had higher risk of  newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D; odds ratio (OR) = 1.30, 95% confidence  interval (CI) = 1.14,1.47), prediabetes (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.06,1.33),  generalized obesity (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.07,1.37) and abdominal obesity  (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.01, 1.30). Replacing refined cereals with whole wheat or  millet flour without decreasing overall carbohydrate quantity was not associated  with lower risk for T2D (OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.57, 1.56) or abdominal obesity  (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.66, 1.76). Modeled isocaloric substitution of  carbohydrates for plant, dairy, egg or fish protein was associated with lower  likelihood of T2D (ranging from OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.83, 0.95-for dairy to  OR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.82, 0.99-egg) and prediabetes (ranging from OR = 0.82, 95%  CI = 0.72, 0.92-for dairy to OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.89, 0.99-for fish). Public  health strategies that reduce overall carbohydrates and saturated fat while  increasing intake of plant and dairy proteins could mitigate the risk of  metabolic diseases in India.