India to Treat Junk Food like Tobacco, Will be sold with Cigarette-like Warning

The health ministry said sugar and trans fat are new tobacco. Nagpur as the pilot city is all set to put up “oil and sugar boards” across the city as a health warning. These health warning boards will educate the people about the high oil and sugar content of popular Indian snacks like samosas, vada pav, and jalebis, and highlight the health risks that come after consuming such snacks.The "Fit India" movement is the reason of this move and also to address rising obesity rates in the country. 

 

As per the statement published by TOI of president of the Cardiological Society of India, Nagpur, Amar Amale, “It’s the beginning of food labelling becoming as serious as cigarette warnings." He also said “Sugar and trans fats are the new tobacco. People deserve to know what they’re eating."  In addition, according to the letter written by health secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, “India is witnessing a sharp rise in obesity among both adults and children.”

 

Nagpur is going to be the first city  in India to work on this model. The Union Health Ministry has directed all the government institutions in Nagpur and including AIIMS Nagpur to put up big, visible boards of oil and sugar to warn the people that fried Indian snacks they enjoy much are loaded with oil and sugar that are harming their body just like tobacco and cigarettes.  

 

What Is an Oil and Sugar Board?

• Educational posters or online screens at cafeterias and common spaces of state facilities.
• Prominently present quantity of oil and sugar of the commonly eaten snacks in India.
• They are intended to put people to a halt, and make them reflect on what they are eating, similarly, to the way tobacco warnings do to smokers and others. 

 

The reason behind the movement

The problem of obesity in India is an urban phenomenon and is getting aggravated. As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5),  here is what has been found:

Age Group	Overweight/Obese (%)	Urban (%)	Rural (%)
Adult Women (15-49)	24	33.2	19.7
Adult Men (15-49)	22.9	29.8	19.3

 

It is clear that in India there is an almost twofold increase in obesity over the previous 15 years.  NFHS-5 results indicate that more than one-fifth of urban Indians are obese or overweight. And what’s more concerning is that childhood obesity is on the increase due to bad eating habits and lack of physical exercises.

 

Prime Minister Modi inspired the Vision of the Government: FIT INDIA

This initiative fits into the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on public health. On being invited to the 38th national games held in Dehradun (Jan 2025), PM Modi proposed a lifestyle change in the country and asked the people to minimize obesity by at least 10% of their current levels and minimize oil and sugar consumption in their daily meals. During his radio talk at “Mann Ki Baat”, he said that sugar and trans fats are the new tobacco and pointed out the importance of clear labelling on food to empower the citizens.

 

Highlights of the Health Ministry Directive

• The use of oil and sugar boards should be exhibited on the walls of the publicly accessible eateries in all central government institutions.
• The boards will show the consumers the presence of hidden calories and dangerous ingredients in snacks. 
• The action follows anti-tobacco labelling and is aimed at ensuring that food warnings are as efficacious as cigarette warnings.

 

Obesity in India

The number of Indian overweight and obese people will approach 44 crores by 2050 which places India only behind the US in the world scenario. Obesity is a causative factor of most diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. The driving factors are sedentary habits, urban lifestyles and the availability of junk food.

 

The colorful, simple-to-read boards can be sighted at the cafeterias and all of Nagpur soon in other cities. The boards will serve as daily reminders and each person will be reminded to make healthier decisions. This initiative may in the future be spread to other high calorie foods such as burgers and pizzas.

 

The innovative initiative taken by Nagpur can be a pattern across the country in the near future and it would be a revolutionary change in the way India is addressing its increasing junk food and obesity issue. With these oil and sugar boards rolling out, they will certainly offer to make each bite more informed, a reminder of which all of us need; that a moment of taste should not cost a lifetime of health.