Most Indians are unhealthy because of their parents: Doctor’s controversial take sparks debate; social media reacts

“Most of the Indians are unhealthy. not because of their diet, but because of their parents.” This comes from Dr Mansafa Bepari, an MBBS doctor. According to her Twitter (now X) bio, she is a women's health coach.

Dr Mansafa Bepari has posted a video on social media, asking young people in their 20s and 30s to be more aware of nutrition. While blaming the parents, she asks everyone not to get offended before hearing the whole point.

“Our parents and grandparents lived in a society of food scarcity where eating more was smart but now things have changed,” the video caption says.

“When your parents grew up, they worked for hours, they worked on farms, they walked for kilometres, and they had a low-stress life. So, statements like, ‘Eat more rice, ghee is medicine, finish your plate completely’, made sense,” she says in the video.

“But, now, you have a high-stress life. You barely move for work, and you sit for hours. So, these statements don't make sense anymore,” she further says.

Dr. Mansafa Bepari then gives an example of how people today eat their food on a daily basis. The breakfast is loaded with sugar and refined carbohydrates. The lunch is a large portion of rice, and the dinner is only a light, heavy, carbohydrate-loaded meal.

“And then, you complain of visceral obesity, thyroid problems, gut issues, weight issues, hypertension, diabetes, and low energy in your 20s and 30s,” Dr Mansafa Bepari says in the video.

“Nutrition is not emotional. Respect your parents, but learn nutrition. Learn it for yourself…Learn about nutrition, exercise on YouTube. Many credible videos are available,” she adds.

Social media users posted a mix of reactions to the video.

“Definitely true. Also, habits like finishing the plate even if the tummy is full, just so food is not wasted, are habits learnt from a period of scarcity,” commented one of them.

Another wrote, “Exactly. Parents/Grandparents of 60+ age group always try to force kids /adults to overeat. In India, food is equated with LOVE: Aur Khao, Thoda aur Khao, Ek Paratha aur, Tumhe meri kasam. There are multiple factors to obesity and overzealous parents/grandparents are one of thm.”

“In our grandparents' time, heart problems and Sugar were high-class people’s problems because useless MNC-marketed products were out of mind. But, now, MNC tells what to eat, kindly just watch the disaster of Mexico,” posted another.

One of them wrote, “Parents do say all the things you mentioned, but they also say that we should exercise and try to eat as many whole foods or "ghar ka khana" as possible and limit the junk. At the same time, we ignore the latter and follow the former. So, who is at fault, parents or us?”

“Sorry, but it's not true. Nowadays, adulteration is in every product; we don't know whether the ghee we are eating is pure or not,” came from another.

“Disagree. Habits like finishing food even if your tummy is full mean not to overload your plate on the first go. It was actually a way to nudge us not to waste. Even now, I take a spoonful of what I would like to eat. Taste and if I like, then only take more,” another user commented.

Another user defended parents, “Blaming parents is the easiest thing for our own mistakes, rather than realising our bad habits & lifestyle. Our body was never designed for three meals a day. Every creature has to work hard to get food, But, we are getting food without much work nowadays, that's the main cause.”

“Can't agree with you completely, as guys who are following a very heavy gym routine are also disrespecting the Indian diet and lying on whey and steroids. I am following a simple routine by completing the target of 10,000 steps daily and regularly using ghee, rice, roti, aloo, daal,” commented another.

The interest in ‘Parents’ on Google India was high from 26 December to 27 December:

Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. LiveMint has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.