Ministries, depts asked to display oil, sugar content in snacks

The Union health ministry has urged all ministries, departments and autonomous bodies to display “oil and sugar board” mentioning the sugar and oil content in Indian snacks such as samosa, kachori, french fries and vadapav to promote healthy lifestyles and combat obesity and noncommunicable diseases.

- PTI

It has also called for printing health messages on all official stationeries such as letterheads, envelopes, notepads, folders, etc and publications to reinforce daily reminders on fighting obesity.

In the letter written on June 21, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said that India is witnessing a sharp rise in obesity among both adults and children. As per NFHS-5 (2019-21) more than one in five adults in urban areas are overweight or obese.

Prevalence of childhood obesity is impacted by poor dietary habits and reduced physical activity.