Economic Burden of Diet-Related Non-Communicable Diseases and the Rise of the Nutraceutical Market in India: A Commerce and Management Perspective on Clinical Nutrition Financing

Abstract

India is undergoing a rapid nutrition transition, marked by the simultaneous persistence of undernutrition and a sharp rise in diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity-linked disorders. This dual burden carries substantial economic consequences at both household and national levels, manifesting as catastrophic out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure, productivity losses, and rising demand for preventive and therapeutic nutrition interventions. This article examines the economic dimensions of diet-related disease burden in India from a commerce and management perspective, and evaluates the parallel emergence of the nutraceutical and functional food industry as a market-based response to this burden. Drawing on epidemiological, health-economics, and market-research literature, the article argues that clinical nutrition and dietetic practice increasingly operates within a commercial ecosystem shaped by consumer behaviour, industry regulation, and market economics, and that closer integration between clinical dietetics and commerce-oriented health financing strategies is necessary to translate market growth into equitable nutritional outcomes. The article concludes with recommendations for aligning nutraceutical market development with therapeutic dietetic practice and public health financing priorities.