Last Updated:February 24, 2025, 11:25 IST
PM Modi made a strong pitch to combat obesity in India and reduce edible oil consumption in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi | PTI Image/File
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday nominated ten prominent personalities from the fields of politics, sports, business and entertainment to join his efforts to combat obesity in the country and raise awareness about reducing edible oil consumption.
During his monthly Sunday address, “Mann Ki Baat”, PM Modi laid the emphasis on combating obesity and physical fitness. “According to a study, one in every eight people today is troubled by the problem of obesity. Cases of obesity have doubled in the past years, but, what is even more worrying is that the problem of obesity has increased fourfold even among children,” he said.
“Excess weight or obesity gives rise to many kinds of problems and diseases. We can together deal with this challenge with minor efforts. One method I suggested was reducing the consumption of edible oil by 10%. You can decide that while buying oil for cooking, you will buy 10% less oil,” he added.
Olympic athlete Neeraj Chopra, who was invited to the programme, also supported PM’s call by highlighting the consumption of fried food and lack of exercise. ” I would also like to tell that parents should also play some outdoor sport or the other and take their children along and create a good healthy lifestyle, eat well and give your body an hour or however much time you can in a day for exercise,” he said.
Who Were Nominated By PM Modi?
Taking to X, PM Modi said, “As mentioned in yesterday’s Mann Ki Baat, I would like to nominate the following people to help strengthen the fight against obesity and spread awareness on reducing edible oil consumption in food.” He also requested them to nominate 10 people each.
As mentioned in yesterday’s #MannKiBaat, I would like to nominate the following people to help strengthen the fight against obesity and spread awareness on reducing edible oil consumption in food. I also request them to nominate 10 people each so that our movement gets bigger!… pic.twitter.com/bpzmgnXsp4— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 24, 2025
The people nominated by PM Modi were:
- Anand Mahindra, Industrialist
- Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirahua’, Bhojpuri Actor-Politician
- Manu Bhaker, Olympic shooter
- Mirabai Chanu, Olympic weightlifter
- Mohanlal, Actor and film producer
- Nandan Nilekani, Infosys co-founder
- Omar Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir CM
- Madhavan, Actor
- Shreya Ghoshal, Singer
- Sudha Murty, Rajya Sabha MP and philanthropist
Responding to PM’s task, Omar Abdullah said he was happy to join the campaign against obesity in the country. “Obesity causes a number of lifestyle related health issues like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, strokes & breathing problems not to mention mental health conditions like anxiety & depression.”
I’m very happy to join the campaign against obesity launched by PM @narendramodi ji. Obesity causes a number of lifestyle related health issues like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, strokes & breathing problems not to mention mental health conditions like anxiety & depression.…— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 24, 2025
Among those nominated by Abdullah were Biocon Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, businessman Sajjan Jindal, actor Deepika Padukone, former tennis player Sania Mirza, former cricketer Irfan Pathan, MP Supriya Sule and former Wushu player Kuldeep Handoo.