HYDERABAD: Hyderabadis are consuming nearly double the oil of their recommended dietary allowance, worrying experts, who said intake of fat from oil is increasing risks of heart diseases with greasy food blocking arteries and restricting blood flow to the heart.
Since separate oils behave differently when heated and have varying amounts of fats - polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated fats -- experts suggest three kinds of oils should be kept in the kitchen and each used on rotation on a weekly basis.
The ideal consumption of oil per adult per month is half a kilogram, but the actual intake is touching nearly a kilo in Hyderabad, said Dr A Laxmaiah, deputy director, National Institute of Nutrition (NIN).
"We found in a recent survey, a third of adults were binging on hotel food at least twice a week on average compared to a few years ago, when they went twice a month or so," said Dr Laxmaiah.
"There is a marked change in the food culture in the city." For an adult, not more than 30% of the total calorie intake should be from fats.
Experts say that the oil consumption varies, depending on the economic strata and those in the high income group are ending up consuming nearly 50 gm of oil per day as against the recommended 25-30 gms (two tablespoons).
India's consumption of edible oil has risen to around 17.5 million metric ton (mmt) in 2012-13 from 11.6 mmt in 2003-04.
In India, 10% of the 1.2 billion population is affected by CVDs, compared to the US and China, where only 7% and 4% are affected respectively.
Endocrinologist Dr Vijay Shekhar Reddy says fried food contains six to eight times more oil than the regular cooked food and it should not be encouraged.
"Excess oil leads to all kinds of cardiovascular diseases, strokes, obesity, and diabetes. It also makes digestion difficult. Around 75% of the deaths among diabetics are due to CVDs," said Dr Reddy.
Compounding the issue is a wide range of oils hitting the supermarkets and each brand promising good health.
For instance, olive oil has unsaturated fatty acids (that are healthier) in a higher proportion, whereas ground nut oil has more of saturated fatty acids. Palm oil has an equal percentage of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Hence, doctors say, monotonous consumption of just one oil is not recommended.
"Olive oil has some antioxidants. It has some benefits but claims of being zero cholesterol and heart friendly are not entirely true. You cannot say for sure that a person consuming olive oil will not get heart disease," says Dr Laxmaiah.
When olive oil is over heated, all the unsaturated fatty acids get destroyed, said Dr Kamala Krishnaswamy, former director, NIN. "Olive oil is good for salads," she said.
NIN experts said that they are more worried about consumption of junk food which has more of saturated fats. They said especially all the Indian sweet meats have high amounts of unhealthy fat.
OIL MENACE
Ideal consumption of oil per adult per month is half a kilo, but the actual intake is touching nearly a kilo in Hyderabad.
People belonging to high income group consume nearly 50 gm of oil per day as against recommended 25-30 gms.
Excess oil leads to cardiovascular diseases, strokes, obesity and diabetes.
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