Health book for kids in food ad row

A book launch event at a reputed bookstore in Kemps Corner turned out to be an embarrassment for the author. At the launch of Jaldi fit KIDS with Namita Jain, published by a leading media group, the wellness expert had to duck for cover when DNA asked her why an advertisement for PediaSure, a nutritional supplement for children, was given pride of place on the cover and at the beginning of the book. 

Fellow of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics, Dr RK Anand, who has incidentally written the foreword for the book, has already expressed his displeasure. “The advertisement gives the impression that the paediatricians of India, including myself, recommend PediaSure,” he wrote in DNA on January 16. An embarrassed Jain could only mutter, “You should ask Dr Anand, for who, you obviously hold brief, whatever you want to ask. I am just the author.”

Dr Anand was not surprised by the stonewalling. “I agreed to write the foreword in good faith after seeing Jain’s work. However, when I discovered that it was being used to plug nutritional supplements, I was aghast,” he said. “My repeated correspondence with the author as well as Indu Jain, chairperson of the Times Group, which has brought out this publication, has gone unanswered.”

He stressed that paediatricians across the world are against all forms of nutritional supplements. Turn to p8

“At the Indian Academy of Paediatrics, we have set up a committee to get all such supplements banned. How can I reconcile to the deep hurt this book has caused me?” Dr Anand asked. His views were echoed by Dr Ashok Rathod, who heads the paediatric department at JJ hospital. “These supplements are merely a ploy to make money. The ingredients that they contain are easily available in every kitchen. In fact, such food will be fresher and less at risk from contamination,” he explained.