New Delhi: 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 snacks such as samosa, kachori, pizza, french fries and vadapav to promote healthy lifestyles and combat obesity and non-communicable diseases. 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. As per the Lancet GBD 2021 obesity forecasting study published in 2025, the number of overweight and obese adults in India is projected to rise from 18 crore in 2021 to 44.9 crore by 2050, making it the country with the second-highest global burden, she said.