PAKISTAN grows enough food to fill stomachs. It does not grow enough to nourish bodies. That stark conclusion, drawn by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and other UN partners, should jolt policymakers out of complacency. Calories, the analysis shows, are not the same as nutrition. And Pakistan’s food system, though energy-sufficient, is structurally skewed against healthy diets. The findings, presented at a national workshop on sustainable food systems, expose deep imbalances. Cereals, grains, sugar and edible oils are produced and consumed in excess of what dietary guidelines recommend. Meanwhile, fruits, vegetables, pulses and other nutrient-rich foods remain in short supply. The result is a cereal-heavy plate that may ward off hunger but quietly fuels malnutrition and disease. This imbalance is visible across both rural and urban Pakistan. Grains dominate consumption patterns everywhere, particularly in rural households. Milk is the second most consumed food group. Yet fruit intake is consistently low, and protein sources beyond dairy — including meat, poultry, eggs and pulses — remain inadequate. Pulses, which could serve as an affordable protein alternative, are not consumed in sufficient quantities to compensate for limited animal-source foods.

Worryingly, the analysis highlights rising consumption of free sugars and fats, especially in rural areas where inexpensive, energy-dense foods fill the gap left by more diverse diets. Sales of processed foods have nearly doubled in recent years, signalling a rapid dietary transition with grave public health consequences. Pakistan now faces a double burden of malnutrition. Undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies persist even as obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases surge. Diabetes alone affects an estimated 34.5m people. Non-communicable diseases account for 58pc of all deaths nationwide. Cardiovascular disease claims nearly 400,000 lives annually. These numbers represent a mounting fiscal and human crisis. The FAO-led roadmap is right to call for a strategic reallocation of subsidies and incentives. Public money should not disproportionately support the overproduction of cereals and sugar while fruits, vegetables and pulses remain unaffordable for many. Targeted taxes on sugar and sugary beverages, coupled with reinvestment in nutrition programmes, deserve serious consideration. Food policy is health policy. If Pakistan continues to measure success in tonnes of wheat rather than quality of diets, it will keep producing enough calories — and too much disease.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2026