The four main non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes and cancers – are caused primarily by exposure to tobacco, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet, and too little exercise, says Toshiko Kaneda and Reshma Naik, authors of a new report by the Population Reference Bureau.

• Strengthening regulations of the food industry like setting maximum salt, sugar or saturated fat content in food products and food labelling and taxes on soda.   
• The food processing industry accounts for about 50-60 percent of the sugar, salt and fats consumed, making it challenging to encourage healthy diets among young people. 
• Seven of every 10 boys and girls in the 13-15 year age group in India get too little exercise, meaning less than 60 minutes per day.  More than one in five of them are overweight or obese, placing them at a high risk of developing NCDs.
• Among 13- to 15-year-old secondary school students in India, 19 percent of boys and 8 percent of girls have used a tobacco product in the past month. Most of this consumption is of non-commercially produced cigarettes—tobacco products like bidi, an inexpensive hand-rolled cigarette made of unprocessed tobacco wrapped in leaves.