January 2, 2026 05:39 PM IST First published on: Jan 2, 2026 at 05:39 PM ISTThe festive season was, till recently, in full swing. Office parties, family get-togethers and late-night streaming sessions marked the run-up from Christmas to the New Year. At the centre of much of this celebration is not the home kitchen, but the food delivery app — ready, at any hour, to send burgers, pizzas and desserts our way.This is how online food delivery has changed the way urban India eats. The impulse is gratified in minutes for millions of people who indulge in such unnecessary bites every day. The sector has become a major economic engine, generating an estimated Rs 1.2 lakh crore in gross output in 2023-24. Recent estimates suggest it is growing faster than the overall economy. Restaurants gain, platforms scale up, the government collects taxes, and consumers are “served like never before.”AdvertisementBut there is a flip side. The same convenience has made ordering food more frequent, more impulsive, and, very often, more unhealthy. Platforms spur consumption with hyper-targeted ads, limited-time offers and discount coupons. Global research shows that food ordered from such outlets tends to be high in calories, salt, sugar and unhealthy fats, and often ultra-processed. Any keen observer would agree that the pattern is visible in India too. Over time, these altered dietary habits are adding to the burden of obesity and lifestyle diseases.Regulation does exist, but it addresses only one part of the problem. Popular platforms insist that listed restaurants carry an FSSAI licence and meet basic hygiene norms. That is necessary, but not sufficient. Food can be “safe” from contamination and yet deeply harmful when consumed frequently in large portions, late at night, and as a replacement for home-cooked meals. No hygiene standard can regulate midnight cravings or discount-driven bingeing.The first line of defence has to be mindful eating. That means pausing before pressing “order now”: Am I truly hungry, or just bored, stressed or nudged by a notification? A simple weekly routine that anchors most meals at home — dal, sabzi, roti, seasonal fruits — and keeps online ordering to an occasional treat can restore balance. Even when one orders in, choosing grilled over fried, whole grains over refined flour, and salads or lentil bowls over creamy, cheese-heavy dishes can significantly reduce the damage.AdvertisementPlatforms themselves can be part of the solution. They are no longer neutral entities but powerful influencers of choice. The same algorithms that today push “most ordered” burgers and deep-fried snacks can be tweaked to highlight healthier options first. Filters for “healthy”, “low-oil” or “high-fibre” can be made as prominent as “offers” and “fast delivery”. Subtle design nudges of this kind are increasingly being used in digital services to shift behaviour without bans or moral lectures.Public policy must now catch up with this new food ecosystem — and it must bring public service communication firmly into the frame. One idea is a simple, mandatory “health index” for food listed on delivery apps, inspired by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s star labels for appliances. Just as consumers today instinctively look for 4- or 5-star refrigerators to save on electricity, diners could see at a glance whether a dish is a 5-star healthy option or a 1-star indulgence.This rating could combine the visual impact of tobacco warnings with the intuitive clarity of the BEE label: Colour codes, simple icons and a one-to-five scale indicating relative healthiness. Yet labels work only when people recognise and trust them. That is where sustained public service campaigns — on television, radio, social media and within the apps themselves — become crucial, explaining what the stars mean, why a 2-star meal should be an occasional indulgence, and how repeated low-rated choices affect long-term health.Another policy nudge could use the platforms’ own data. Apps already track how often and what their users order. Instead of using this only to sharpen marketing, they could be required to share periodic summaries with the user: “You ordered outside food 12 times this month, mostly low on the health index.” Such neutral, data-based reminders can trigger reflection, much like an unusually high electricity bill prompts households to check excessive usage. Public communication can reinforce this by normalising such prompts and framing them not as scolding, but as a helpful health reminder.most readThe aim is not to demonise online food delivery. The sector has created jobs, enabled small restaurants to reach new customers, and offered genuine convenience to busy households. The real challenge is to ensure that this convenience does not silently underwrite a long-term public health crisis.In the end, the question is not whether we should use these apps, but how. In a season of celebration, ordering food online should move from being an act of surrender to impulse, to a conscious choice shaped by both taste and health. That shift will require individual discipline, responsible platform design, smart regulation and persuasive public communication to work together — before the festive binge becomes a year-round warning for the nation’s health.The writer is a civil servant working in public service communications and holds a PhD in Consumer Behaviour from HEC Paris