Eating Healthy Food in Urban India: The Role of Digital Technology
Funding Agency : Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati
Principal Investigator: Rituparna Patgiri
Co-investigator:
Duration/Starting Year: 2024-06-19 to 2026-06-19
Status: Ongoing
This particular study originates in the context of my research interest in understanding the relationship between food and emerging technological forms, particularly digital ones. With rising cases of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, PCOD, thyroid and hypertension among young people, there are concerns about their lifestyle and food habits. One of the concerns is about the consumption of refined sugar in different forms. In response, there has been a proliferation of sugar-free, natural sugar and alternative sweet (honey, jaggery, stevia) based brands, particularly in the online space. Many of these brands claim to be ‘health-oriented’ and contain advice from ‘health experts’. The digital sphere is used by practitioners to disseminate information about diet and health. This knowledge is then used by the consumers to facilitate their ideas and perceptions about food and health, often making the boundaries between the credible and the fake porous. The importance of the digital in health is also further increased by the state push towards the digitalization of health services. For instance, the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) or the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission was started during the pandemic to build a digital health ecosystem. However, there is not much research on how digitalization has transformed the way our eating habits and its consequences on health. There is a confluence of food habits, health and technology which needs deeper investigation and I intend to do that in my research.