Packaged food, drinks unhealthiest in India: Survey

Agencies

August 22, 2019

Mumbai, Aug 22: A global survey has found that when it comes to having the healthiest packaged food and drinks, India ranks the lowest among 12 countries.

The UK topped the charts, followed by the US and Australia.

Published in the journal Obesity Reviews, the researchers analysed more than 400,000 food and drink products from 12 countries and territories around the world.

The survey highlights the high levels of sugar, saturated fat, salt and calories/kJ in several of our favourite food items.

The countries were ranked using Australia's Health Star Rating system which measures the levels of the nutrients such as energy, salt, sugar, saturated fat as well as protein, calcium and fibre and assigns a star rating from half -- least healthy to five -- the most healthy.

It was found that the UK had the highest average Health Star Rating of 2.83, followed by the US at 2.82 and Australia at 2.81.

Among the lowest were India with just 2.27 rating, China with 2.43 and Chile 2.44.

The research also found that China's drinks were among the healthiest with an average Health Star Rating of 2.9 but packaged foods scored low at just 2.39.

South Africa on the other hand scored low with its drinks at an average 1.92 rating while its foods came in at 2.87.

The UK scored best for sugar at just 3.8 grams per 100 grams, with Canada being the second best at 4.6 grams per 100 grams.

The results were concerning because packaged foods and drinks are driving a double burden of diet-related diseases in many low- and middle-income countries, researchers said.

"Our results show that some countries are doing a much better job than others. Unfortunately, it's the poorer nations that are least able to address the adverse health consequences that have the unhealthiest foods," said study lead author Elizabeth Dunford from the George Institute for Global Health.

"Billions of people are now exposed to very unhealthy foods on a daily basis. The obesity crisis is just the first ripple of a tsunami of dietary ill health that is coming for us," she added.

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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