Nearly 4.1 crore Indian children are already overweight or obese
NEW DELHI: With World Obesity Atlas 2026 saying nearly 4.1 crore Indian children are already overweight or obese, Indian Council of Medical Research unveiled a roadmap this week to halt the trend.Key proposals include front-of-pack nutrition labelling, restrictions on market-ing of unhealthy foods to chi-ldren, healthier school food environments, improved nutrition literacy, and fiscal measures such as taxes on foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS).It also calls for stricter enforcement of existing FSSAI regulations that prohibit sale and advertising of foods high in saturated fat, trans fat, added sugar and sodium within school campuses and within 50m of their gates. The document recommends routine inspections, stronger monitoring and greater accountability to improve compliance.
A pilot assessment in UP private schools found ultra-processed snacks and sugary drinks were widely available in school canteens, nutrition services were limited, and existing nutrition policies were poorly implemented. The report says the absence of a legally operational definition of HFSS foods has weakened enforcement of regulations. The report warns India could account for more than 11% of the global childhood obesity burden by 2030 if current trends continue. It also estimates that unhealthy diets account for 56.4% of the country’s disease burden, with easy access to HFSS foods, aggressive marketing and poor nutrition literacy driving obesity.The roadmap, launched by Niti Aayog member (health) M Srinivas under the ICMR-NIN-led ‘Let’s Fix Our Food’ initiative, brings together 10 policy briefs developed over nearly three years of research.
