New Delhi: Actors Mohanlal, R Madhavan, and singer Shreya Ghoshal are among 10 eminent personalities nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the national movement against obesity and promote healthy food consumption.
The others are — Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, businessman Anand Mahindra, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekeni, weightlifter Mirabai, shooter Manu Bhaker, philanthropist and MP Sudha Murty and Bhojpuri singer-actor Nirahua.
Besides naming these personalities, the PM also requested them to nominate 10 people each to make the movement bigger.
“As mentioned in yesterday’s #MannKiBaat, 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,” Modi posted on X.
As mentioned in yesterday’s #MannKiBaat, 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!… pic.twitter.com/bpzmgnXsp4
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 24, 2025
Madhavan thanked Modi for launching the ‘essential and impactful’ awareness programme and said he honoured.
“I thank the Honorable Prime Minister, Shri @narendramodi Ji, for launching this essential and impactful awareness program to inspire our nation toward better health. I am honoured to be nominated to help spread this important message,” the actor responded.
He went on to nominate 10 individuals and ‘humbly’ urged them to join this initiative in ‘making India healthier’.
Madhavan’s nominees are Olympic track & field gold-medallist Neeraj Chopra, golfer Anirban Lahiri, actor Rohit Roy, actress Rakul Preet Singh, OYO CEO Ritesh Agarwal, actor Vivek Oberoi, film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi, producer Vijay Moolan, golfer Shubhankar Sharma, Optimystix founder Vipul Shah and Olympian swimmer Sajan Prakash.
During his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast on Sunday, PM Modi asked his fellow Indians to make a conscious choice of using less oil while cooking. He urged people to reduce their oil consumption by at least 10 per cent pass the same piece of advice to 10 people, in an attempt to build a health chain across the country.
Sharing official data, he mentioned that every one in eight people in India is suffering from obesity. “To become a fit and healthy nation, we have to tackle the problem of obesity. According to a study, today one in every eight people is suffering from the problem of obesity,” Modi said.
“Obesity cases have doubled in the past few years, but what is even more worrying is that the problem of obesity among children has also increased four-fold. Therefore, you should decide that you will use 10 per cent less oil every month. You can decide that you will buy 10 per cent less oil when you buy it for cooking. This will be an important step towards reducing obesity. By making small changes in our eating habits, we can make our future stronger, fitter and disease-free.”
