Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Of Bulging Bellies and Slimming TVs: Television and Nutrition Transition in India

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Health Communication in the Changing Media Landscape

Abstract

Television has traversed a long path in India as an educational tool. After opening up the economy for liberalization, radio and television were laid open to private players. From the days of the solitary few soaps and televised mythological dramas when millions of viewers stayed glued to their sets to today’s television mills that cater to a growingly information hungry nation, India’s television has seen a sea change. After over five decades, India’s television industry has broadcasters constantly facing the three Rs—revenue, relevance and reach. With changing technology the screen no doubt are slimming but TVs are blamed in part for bulging girth of India’s upwardly mobile population. Juxtaposing this scenario with the changing health policies, this chapter analyzes the role of television in promoting health and the influence it has had on various social, economic and political processes that have been revolutionizing the health landscape in India. Furthermore, the chapter also analyzes various social processes that include health consumerism, urban modelling, ‘health food’ advertising and its impact on nutrition, restructuring of human relationships, hegemony in health messaging and the emergence of a confused information cacophony. Some see these processes as positive, yet others view them as negative developments. These are looked at with specific reference to changing nutrition scenario in India.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large: cultural dimensions of globalization (Vol. 1). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arora, M., Reddy, K. S., Stigler, M. H., & Perry, C. L. (2008). Associations between tobacco marketing and use among urban youth in India. American Journal of Health Behavior, 32, 283–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baviskar, A. (2012). Food and agriculture. In: Dalmia, V., & Sadana, R. (2012). The Cambridge companion to modern Indian culture. Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 49–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Botterill, L. C. (2006). Leaps of Faith in the Obesity Debate: a Cautionary Note for Policy Note for Policy‐makers. The Political Quarterly, 77(4), 493–500.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, W. J. (1990). Prosocial effects of entertainment television in India. Asian Journal of Communication, 1(1), 113–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cairns, G., Angus, K., & Hastings, G. (2009). The extent, nature and effects of food promotion to children: a review of the evidence to December 2008. Geneva: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cairns, G., Angus, K., Hastings, G., & Caraher, M. (2013). Systematic reviews of the evidence on the nature, extent and effects of food marketing to children. A retrospective summary. Appetite, 62, 209–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). (2014). Junk food targeted at children – Regulatory action required to limit exposure and availability. New Delhi: CSE. Available at: http://www.cseindia.org/userfiles/junk_food_targeted_children.pdf. Accessed 27 Jan 2016.

  • Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). (2012). Emerging consumer demand: Rise of the small town Indian. New Delhi: Neilson & CII. Available at: http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/india/reports/2012/Emerging%20Consumer%20Demand%20%E2%80%93%20Rise%20of%20the%20Small%20Town%20Indian.pdf. Accessed 2 Feb 2016.

  • Consumers International. (2008). The junk food trap: Marketing unhealthy food to children in Asia Pacific 2008. London: Consumers International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Exchange for Media (2004). Brand Speak, interview with Pankaj Batra, Marketing Director, YUM! Restaurants International. Available at: http://www.exchange4media.com/brandspeak/brandspeakmailer.asp?brand_id=62. Accessed 24 Sept 2016.

  • Fernandes, L. (2000). Nationalizing ‘the global’: media images, cultural politics and the middle class in India. Media, Culture & Society, 22 (5), 611–628.

    Google Scholar 

  • FNB (Food and Nutrition Board). (2016). Information, education & communication (IEC) campaign against malnutrition. Ministry of women and child development, government of India. Available at: http://wcd.nic.in/fnb/fnb/IEC_campaign.htm. Accessed 18 Feb 2016.

  • Gavaravarapu, S.R.M., Sudershan, R. V., Rao, P., Rao, M. V. V., & Polasa, K. (2007). Food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of mothers—Findings from focus group studies in South India. Appetite, 49(2), 441–449.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gavaravarapu, S. R. M., Vemula, S. R., Rao, P., Mendu, V. V., & Polasa, K. (2009). Focus group studies on food safety knowledge, perceptions, and practices of school-going adolescent girls in South India. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 41(5), 340–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gavaravarapu, S., R., M. (2014). Changing Food and Nutrition Priorities in the Public Health Agenda of India―An Historical Perspective. In: Ngwainmbi EK (Ed.). Healthcare Management Strategy, Communication, and Development Challenges and Solutions in Developing Countries. Lexington Books. 2014, 147–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gavaravarapu, S. R. M., Rao, K. M., Nagalla, B., & Avula, L. (2015). Assessing differences in risk perceptions about obesity among “Normal-Weight” and “Overweight” adolescents—A qualitative study. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 47(6), 488–497.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Signorielli, N., & Morgan, M. (1980). Aging with television: Images on television drama and conceptions of social reality.Journal of Communication, 30(1), 37–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, P., Pindborg, J., Bhonsie, R., Murti, P., Mehta, F., et al. (1986). Intervention study for primary prevention of oral cancer among 36,000 Indian tobacco users. Lancet, 327, 1235–1239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hormis, N., & D’silva, F. (2013). Obesity among adolescents of urban and rural schools in Mangalore. Nursing Journal of India, 104(3), 106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. (2001). Media and social change: the modernizing influences of television in rural India. Media, Culture & Society, 23(2), 147–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • KPMG. KPMG- FICCI Report. (2015). https://www.kpmg.com/IN/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/FICCI-KPMG_2015.pdf.

  • Kuriyan, R., Bhat, S., Thomas, T., Vaz, M., & Kurpad, A. V. (2007). Television viewing and sleep are associated with overweight among urban and semi-urban South Indian children. Nutrition Journal, 6(1), 1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuriyan, R., Thomas, T., Sumithra, S., Lokesh, D. P., Sheth, N. R., Joy, R., et al. (2012). Potential factors related to waist circumference in urban South Indian children. Indian Peadiatrics, 49(2), 124–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laxmaiah, A., Nagalla, B., Vijayaraghavan, K., & Nair, M. (2007). Factors affecting prevalence of overweight among 12 to 17 year old urban adolescents in Hyderabad, India. Obesity, 15(6), 1384–1390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malhotra, S., & Crabtree, R. D. (2002). Ender, inter(Nation)alization, culture. Implications of the privatization of television in India. In M. J. Collier (Ed.), Transforming communication about culture: Critical new directions (pp. 60–84). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Manchanda, U. (1998). Invasion from the skies: The impact of foreign television on India. Australian Studies in Journalism, 1(7), 136–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mankekar, P. (1999). Screening culture, viewing politics- Television, womanhood and nation in modern India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazzarella, W. (2012). ‘Reality must improve’: The perversity of expertise and the belatedness of Indian development television. Global Media and Communication, 8(3), 215–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDermott, L., O’Sullivan, T., & Stead, M. (2006). International food advertising, pester power and its effects. International Journal of Advertising, 25(4), 513–540.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDowell, S. D. (1997). Globalization and policy choice: Television and audiovisual services policies in India. Media, Culture & Society, 19(2), 151–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMillin, D. C. (2003). Television, gender, and labor in the global city. Journal of Communication, 53(3), 496–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mehta, N. (2008). ‘Idol’ television: Nationalism, identity formation and satellite. In N. Mehta (Ed.), Television in India: Satellites, politics and cultural change (pp. 1–12). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. (2016). Status of permitted private satellite TV channels in India. Available at: http://www.mib.nic.in/WriteReadData/documents/Status_1.pdf. Accessed 31 Jan 2016.

  • Mohan, B., Kumar, N., Aslam, N., Rangbulla, A., Kumbkarni, S., Sood, N. K., et al. (2003). Prevalence of sustained hypertension and obesity in urban and rural school going children in Ludhiana. Indian Heart Journal, 56(4), 310–314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nandy, A. (2004). The changing popular culture of Indian food: Preliminary notes. South Asia Research, 24(1), 9–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4). (2006). 2014–15: India. Fact sheets for key indicators based on final data. Available at: http://rchiips.org/nfhs/factsheet_NFHS-4.shtml. Accessed 2 Feb 2016.

  • Papa, M. J., Singhal, A., Law, S., Pant, S., Sood, S., Rogers, E. M., & Shefner‐Rogers, C. L. (2000). Entertainment‐education and social change: an analysis of parasocial interaction, social learning, collective efficacy, and paradoxical communication. Journal of communication, 50(4), 31–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Popkin, B. M. (2001). The nutrition transition and obesity in the developing world. The Journal of Nutrition, 131(3), 871S–873S.

    Google Scholar 

  • Popkin, B. M., & Gordon-Larsen, P. (2004). The nutrition transition: Worldwide obesity dynamics and their determinants. International Journal of Obesity, 128, S2–S9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad, M., Thomas, J. V., & Bhatia, P. (2015). Prevalence of overweight and obesity among rural high school children in Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh. International Journal of Contemporary Medicine, 3(1), 65–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rajagopal, A. (2001). Politics after television: Hindu nationalism and the reshaping of the public in India. London: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ranganathan, M. (2008). Give me a vote and I will give you a TV set: Television in Tamil Nadu politics. In N. Mehta (Ed.), Television in India: Satellites, politics and cultural change (pp. 106–123). Oxon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rich, E., & Evans, J. (2005). ‘Fat Ethics’ – The obesity discourse and body politics. Social Theory & Health, 3, 341–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richins, M. L. (1991). Social comparison and the idealized images of advertising. Journal of consumer research, 18(1), 71–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, E.M., Singhal, A., Vasanti, P.N., Thombre, A., Chitnis, K., Sengupta, A., Kumar, S. & Chatterjee, A. (2003). Audience interpretations of health-related content in two American television programs broadcast in India. Report presented to the Centres for Disease Cintrol and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255627403_audience_interpretations_of_health-related_content_in_two_american_television_programs_broadcast_in_india. Accessed 31 Jan 2016.

  • Saguy, A. C., & Riley, K. V. (2005). Weighing both sides: Morality, mortality, and framing contests over obesity. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 30, 869–921.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saha, S., Vemula, S. R., Mendu, V. V., & Gavaravarapu, S. M. (2013). Knowledge and practices of using food label information among adolescents attending schools in Kolkata, India. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 45(6), 773–779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shah, P. B., Pednekar, M. S., Gupta, P. C., & Sinha, D. N. (2008). The relationship between tobacco advertisements and smoking status of youth in India. Asia Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 9, 637–642.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shetty, P. S. (2002). Nutrition transition in India. Public Health Nutrition, 5(1a), 175–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singhal, A., & Rogers, E. M. (1988). Television soap operas for development in India. Gazette, 41(2), 109–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singhal, A., Doshi, J. K., Rogers, E. M., & Rahman, S. A. (1988). The diffusion of television in India. Media Asia, 15(4), 222–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singhal, A., & Rogers, E. M. (1989). Prosocial television for development in India. Public communication campaigns, 2, 331–350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sood, S., & Rogers, E. M. (2000). Dimensions of parasocial interaction by letter-writers to a popular entertainment-education soap opera in India.Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 44(3), 386–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srikanth, J., Saravanakumar, M., & Srividhya, S. (2013). The impact of celebrity advertisement on Indian customers. Life Science Journal, 10(9), 59–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stigler, M. H., Medina, J., Arora, M., Nazar, G., Rodrigues, L. M., Reddy, K. S., et al. (2013). Adolescents’ response to food marketing in Delhi, India. In Advances in communication research to reduce childhood obesity (pp. 269–284). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sudershan, R.V., Gavaravarapu, S.R.M., Rao, P., Rao M., V., V., & Polasa, K. (2008). Food safety related perceptions and practices of mothers – A case study in Hyderabad, India. Food control, 19(5): 506–513.

    Google Scholar 

  • TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India). (2013). Consultation paper on issues relating to media ownership. Consultation Paper No. 01/2013. New Dehi: TRAI, 2013; 10p

    Google Scholar 

  • TVB Networks news. (2016). Competitive Media. Available at: http://www.tvb.org/research/184839. Accessed 1 Feb 2016.

  • Vijayapushpam, T., Maheshwar, M., & Rao, D. R. (2014). A comparative analysis of television food advertisements aimed at adults and children in India. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science and Engineering, 2, 476–483.

    Google Scholar 

  • Viswanath, K., Ackerson, L. K., Sorensen, G., & Gupta, P. C. (2010). Movies and TV influence tobacco use in India: Findings from a national survey. PLoS One, 5(6), e11365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WHO (World Health Organization). (2012). A framework for implementing the set of recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children. Geneva: WHO. Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/80148/1/9789241503242_eng.pdf?ua=1. Accessed 24 Sept. 2016

  • Wiecha, J. L., Peterson, K. E., Ludwig, D. S., Kim, J., Sobol, A., & Gortmaker, S. L. (2006). When children eat what they watch: Impact of television viewing on dietary intake in youth. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 160(4), 436–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yadava, J. S., Reddi, U. V., & Lull, J. (1988). In the midst of diversity: Television in urban Indian homes. World Families Watch Television, 117–135.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Extension and Training Division, National Institute of Nutrition (Indian Council of Medical Research), Hyderabad, TS, India

    SubbaRao M. Gavaravarapu

Authors
  1. SubbaRao M. Gavaravarapu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to SubbaRao M. Gavaravarapu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    Ravindra Kumar Vemula

  2. Indian Council of Medical Research, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

    SubbaRao M Gavaravarapu

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Gavaravarapu, S.M. (2016). Of Bulging Bellies and Slimming TVs: Television and Nutrition Transition in India. In: Vemula, R., Gavaravarapu, S. (eds) Health Communication in the Changing Media Landscape. Global Transformations in Media and Communication Research - A Palgrave and IAMCR Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33539-1_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation