The study identified four major visible impacts: occupational hazards, vector borne diseases,
changing nutritional status, and inequity in development. In the high-input area,mechanization
has resulted in more occurrences of serious accidents and injuries. Ecological changes due to rice
cultivation in this area have further augmented mosquito breeding, and there has been a surge in the
incidence of Japanese encephalitis and malaria. The traditional coarse cereals(complex carbohydrates,
high protein) have been replaced by mill-polished rice(simple carbohydrate,low protein).
The prevalence of overweight(BMI >25) has emerged as a new public health challenge,and this is
most evident in large-landholding households,especially in the high-input agriculture areas. In all
agro-ecological areas,it was observed that women faced a greater risk of both extremes of under-nutrition and being overweight.Output-driven and market-oriented modern agricultural practices have
changed the ecology and disease pattern in this area in India, and our survey indicated significant
health effects associated with these changes. There is a need for more extensive epidemiological studies
in order to know the full impact on diseases and to understand the complex causal relationships.