PM Modi warns from Red Fort: India must lose weight or risk stalling its economic dreams

From the Red Fort this Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t just talk politics or progress; he warned that the biggest threat to India’s future could be its growing waistline. 

With obesity surging nationwide, Modi called on Indians to cut cooking oil use by 10%, framing it not just as a health issue, but as an economic imperative for a nation striving toward developed status.

“In the coming years, obesity can become a major challenge for our country,” PM Modi said in his 79th Independence Day address. His message was stark but simple: India cannot afford to be overweight, literally or economically.

The Prime Minister’s advice to reduce cooking oil usage is more than dietary micromanagement. It’s a strategic nudge aimed at halting a health crisis that’s quietly snowballing into an economic one. 

With over 100 million Indians living with diabetes, and nearly a quarter of all adults now overweight or obese, experts say India’s health burden is fast becoming an economic one.

The Economic Survey 2023-24 had already sounded the alarm: rising obesity is undermining India’s demographic dividend. A younger workforce means nothing if it’s unhealthy. “Obesity is emerging as a serious concern,” the survey noted, pointing to a consistent rise in adult obesity rates between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5.

Modi’s focus on cooking oil is deliberate. Nutritionists have long flagged excessive oil consumption, especially refined oils rich in trans fats, as a major contributor to lifestyle diseases. His call to return to traditional cooking methods and plant-rich diets taps into cultural memory while aligning with modern nutritional science.

But the PM’s speech also hinted at a deeper, systemic issue: India’s development dreams cannot rest on an unfit foundation. As healthcare costs surge and productivity dips due to non-communicable diseases, the economic toll is becoming harder to ignore.

Experts warn that obesity is not just a personal issue; it’s a policy challenge. Calls are growing for integrating BMI tracking into national health policies, regulating junk food marketing, and rethinking school nutrition.