Hyderabad : Danone India, Arogya World India Trust and InBody are on a mission to raise awareness around muscle health by positively changing attitudes and practices around consumption of protein rich diets and an active lifestyle. Through the initiative of The Protein Week 2019, Danone India and its partners aim to sensitise 100,000 working Indians through workshops on nutrition by experts and free muscle-health assessment at various corporates in India.

The Protein week initiative is celebrated annually from 24^th July till 30^th July, with the objective of creating mass awareness around the role of protein for healthy muscles, as protein deficiency continues to remain a major challenge in India.

In the run up to The Protein Week 2019, 40,000 working Indians have already been sensitized across various corporates in Noida, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The initial findings of the muscle health assessment in Hyderabad shows that at least 6 out of 10 working professionals have poor muscle health due to protein deficiency. The numbers are more alarming in women, with 8 out of 10 working women diagnosed with poor muscle health.

 Dr. Sesikeren, Former Director of NIN-ICMR said, “Proteins are essential at all stages of life, even after growth and development since we constantly lose protein through normal physiological losses and it needs to be replenished. The estimated daily requirement or the recommended daily intake of protein through food is 10 to 15% of the calories which works out to 0.8 to 1.0 Gm per Kg body weight. Loss of muscles leads to decreased strength and slow movements and a greater risk of falling particularly in older adults. The way to maintain the muscle health is to consume the required amount of good quality protein and be physically active.”

 According to Dr. Nandan Joshi, Head – Nutrition Science and Medical Affairs at Danone India, “. The Protein Week initiative this year aims to sensitize corporate India on the need for the right protein intake to ensure good muscle health. Sedentary lifestyles and inadequate protein deficient diets are having a huge impact on the muscle health of the Indian work force.  A study by Inbody among Corporate professionals, indicates that 64% of Indian workforce have low or poor muscle health. This is an area of concern when compared to most of the developed countries of the world, and we at Danone are committed to address this nutritional deficiency.” 

Commenting at the initiative, Mr. Dawson Kim from InBody said “A study conducted by InBody last year indicated more than 70% of Indians have poor muscle health. Last year’s data supports the analysis done this year among working professionals and reveals that six out of ten working professionals have poor muscle health. There is an urgent need to ramp up efforts to sensitise people about importance of muscle health and role of protein in improving the same. We are glad that this year’s The Protein Week initiative had put the spotlight on India’s workforce who are most affected”.

According to Sumathi Rao, Country Manager, Arogya World, “. Arogya World India Trust is glad to be a part of The Protein Week initiative. This year The Protein Week aims to sensitize corporate India on the need for the right nutrition and its impact on their daily lives. Employees today in India have poor protein intake which is not only affecting their professional lives but also their personal live. It becomes pertinent to spread the word around protein and muscle health so that people can take necessary steps towards leading a healthy lifestyle.”