NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday nominated 10 persons from different walks of life, including Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, businessman Anand Mahindra and actor Mohan Lal, to help fight obesity, a day after he exhorted people to take measures to curb the health menace.
“I would like to nominate the following people to help strengthen the fight against obesity and spread awareness on reducing edible oil consumption in food. I also request them to nominate 10 people each so that our movement gets bigger,” he posted on X.
Bhojpuri singer-actor Nirahua, shooting champion Manu Bhaker, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, actor R Madhavan, singer Shreya Ghoshal and philanthropist and MP Sudha Murty are the other personalities nominated by him.
Making a strong pitch for fighting obesity, PM Modi had in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast on Sunday urged people to use less oil in food and also pass on the challenge of reducing oil intake by 10 per cent to 10 others.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said he was happy to join the campaign against obesity, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Abdullah also nominated 10 people to join the campaign. “I’m very happy to join the campaign against obesity launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji,” he said in a post on X.
“Obesity causes a number of lifestyle-related health issues like heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, strokes and breathing problems, not to mention mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Today I’m nominating these 10 people to join the prime minister campaign against obesity and requesting them to nominate a further 10 people each to take this fight forward,” he added.
Among those nominated by Abdullah for the campaign are Biocon Limited founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, businessman Sajjan Jindal, actor Deepika Padukone, former tennis player Sania Mirza, former cricketer Irfan Pathan, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule and former Wushu star Kuldeep Handoo.
Abdullah later told reporters that Modi started the campaign to raise awareness.
“The prime minister nominated me through a tweet (X post), and I also took an initiative and nominated 10 more people. It is hoped that this will spread awareness. The more we take care of our health, the more we can work efficiently, the more our children can study, it will decrease pressure on our hospitals and increase our life expectancy,” he said.
The National Conference vice-president said people should make attempts to remain healthy. “It is understood that obesity is a sort of disease, a lifestyle illness, and is increasing. Obesity can be controlled if we take precautions, exercise and eat healthy,” he added.
