Meals in Delhi and Ahmedabad have the highest amount of fat

• An ICMR survey says that the highest intake came from vegetarian dishes like dal fry, rice, stuffed paratha, chuduva, bisibelebath, and pulihora.
  
• People in Delhi and Ahmedabad consumed high levels of visible fat among the seven metro cities.
  
• Mumbai and Hyderabad consumed the lowest visible fat amongst the seven metroes surveyed.

Who likes to have dal without a sputtering tadka of red chillies? Well it is this love for delicious food might be inching up your fat intake. Along with dal fry, dishes like stuffed paratha, chuduva (poha), Karnataka’s staple Bisibelebath and Andhra’s favourite pulihora (tamarind rice) — have all been listed as foods with high amounts of ‘visible fat’ by an ICMR survey.

It doesn’t matter if you are a mutton biryani person or a chicken biryani person. Almost all non-vegetarian foods like, fish, chicken, egg and mutton give high amounts of visible fat, says the survey by Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN).

But vegetarians have nothing to be too happy about either. Those who love to eat rice with potato fry and other tubers and roots consume more ‘visible’ fat, the survey says. Moreover, researchers noted that contrary to general belief, vegetarians consumed more fat than non-vegetarians in the seven metros they surveyed.

Delhi and Ahmedabad top the fat charts

The Dil-wala Delhi meals and Gujarati meals which “cannot-be-served-without-ghee” also made it to the top of the list. The survey says that Delhi and Ahmedabad consumed the highest levels of visible fat among the seven metros whileMumbai and Hyderabad consumed the least. The other cities which were a part of the survey were Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata.

“The visible fat consumption levels were significantly higher in Delhi and Ahmedabad at 44.4 gm per person/day and 43.9 gmrespectively, while the average intake in Hyderabad and Mumbai were the lowest at 25.1 gm,” says Prof P K Seth, chairman of International Life Sciences Institute India.

‘Don’t ditch your biryani but eat healthy’

Seth added that the average intake of all metros pooled was at 32.6 gm per person/day. ICMR recommends 20 gm per person per day. Overall, 18% of the total intake of energy came from visible fat.

“Although, we know you can’t ditch your beloved biryani, but it is important that people are motivated to consume balanced diets, adopt a healthy lifestyle, undertake physical activity including Yoga,” said Seth. He also said that healthy dietary practices must begin early in life.

See also:
Thalinomics: Here is the price of a thali in Indian states — and Jharkhand has the cheapest