Gen Z hooked on to junk food, use apps to order processed items, says study
NEW DELHI: Gen Z is hooked on junk food and regularly order from popular online app to purchase ultra-processed foods (UPFs) like soft drinks, juices, biscuits, cakes, ice creams, candies, chips, and noodles, said a latest survey, which found that alarmingly one in two packaged food items listed on quick commerce platforms in India is high on fat, sugar and salts (HFSS). The survey findings come in the wake of the Lancet series, which said the rise of UPFs in human diets is damaging public health and fuelling chronic diseases from obesity, diabetes, and cancer globally. The survey, which received over 24,000 responses from parents of Gen Z across 277 districts of India, also found that eight online sites, including Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Jiomart, and other quick commerce platforms, have over 40% of their packaged food listings as UPFs or with HFSS content. Also, as many as 9 in ten parents of Gen Z said that identifying HFSS foods with a red bar will lead to healthier choices, the survey by LocalCircles, Indias leading community social media platform, said. The survey found that among eight online sites, Blinkit has 62% products that fall in the HFSS foods category; Zepto has 58% of products in this category, Swiggy Instamart has 54% such products, Jiomart has 50%, BigBasket 49% of its products are in this category, Milkbasket 48%, Amazon Fresh 44%, and Flipkart Minutes 42% in this category. Dr Arun Gupta, co-author of Lancet series, said, This new analysis confirms what The Lancet Series on Ultra-Processed Foods and Human Health, warned a few weeks back.
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