CHENNAI: A landmark ICMR–INDIAB study, published in Nature Medicine, has sounded a national health alarm, revealing that India’s carb-heavy diets — dominated by white rice, milled grains, and added sugars — are sharply escalating the risk of diabetes, prediabetes, and obesity across regions.

Conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in collaboration with the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), the 15-year, Health Ministry–funded study analysed data from 1,21,077 adults across 36 States and Union Territories, offering the most comprehensive evidence yet on how India’s evolving dietary profile is driving metabolic disease.

Researchers found that 62% of daily calories in Indian diets come from carbohydrates, one of the highest proportions globally. Most of these ca

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