NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Sunday doubled down on his suggestion to reduce monthly edible oil consumption by 10% to prevent obesity which, he said, affected one in every eight people. He also asked people to pass on the challenge of reducing oil intake to 10 others.
During the opening of the National Games in Dehradun on Jan 28, Modi had highlighted the role of excess cooking oil in causing obesity and suggested that families should reduce their consumption of edible oil by 10% each month. He had said small steps such as this could lead to significant health improvements In his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio address on Sunday, Modi went a step further and shared messages from Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, boxer Nikhat Zareen and eminent cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Shetty on the issue. “Decide that you will use 10% less oil every month. You can decide that while buying oil for cooking, you will buy 10% less. This will be an important step towards reducing obesity,” the PM said.
Chopra narrated his struggle with increased weight when he began training and how he overcame the problem. “When I started going to the ground, I was quite overweight and when I started training and started eating well, my health improved a lot and after that, when I became a professional athlete, I got a lot of help in that too,” he said, while stressing on the need to avoid fried food items.
Zareen, a two-time world boxing champion, said she tried to follow a healthy diet because consuming unhealthy diet or oily things, even by mistake, impacted her performance and she got tired quickly in the ring. “I try to use as little as possible things like edible oil and instead follow a healthy diet and do daily physical activity due to which I always remain fit,” she said.
