Mohanlal among 10 celebs picked by PM Modi for obesity awareness; who are the others?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has nominated 10 celebrities to strengthen the fight against the rising issue of obesity and spread awareness on reducing the consumption of edible oil in food.

After making a strong pitch against the root cause of all diseases - obesity - in his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio programme, Modi nominated ten celebrities, who range from A-list Bollywood actors to political figures and prominent businessmen, to take up this issue and create awareness around it.

"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!," PM has posted on X.

Modi said his aim was to make the movement bigger and asked the 10 celebrities to nominate 10 more people to create more knowledge on this health issue in the public eye.

Watch: 'Birdman of Chennai' feeds 6,000 parrots daily; here's the backstory

The nominated celebrities

The people who were nominated are:

Anand Mahindra: The Mumbai-based Indian billionaire and chairman of the Mahindra group. He is a well-known philanthropist and is always vocal and passionate about issues in the country. He recently called for a solution to the crowd control in railway stations to prevent further tragedies like the Delhi railway stampede.

Nandan Nilekani: The co-founder of Infosys is also outspoken and ecently spoke out on how AI can never fully replace core human qualities such as empathy, leadership, collaboration and creativity.

Also read: Delhi stampede | Crowd control, safety must be national mission: Anand Mahindra

Manu Bhaker: The Indian shooter, who made history as the first Indian woman to win a bronze medal in the 10m pistol event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, is an inspirational figure for many young people. This young Olympian can influence people's food choices sharing her knowledge on what keeps her fit.

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu: Similiarly, the weightlifter who won the silver medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the Women’s 49kg event, has also been nominated as a sportswoman to look upto. She has also been awarded the Padma Shri and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2018 by the Government of India.

Omar Abdullah: The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir quickly responded saying he is happy to have been nominated by PM Modi to raise awareness on obesity. And, the political leader quickly took to his social media handles to discuss the ill-effects of obesity and nominated ten more celebrities.

Mohanlal: A prominent figure in the world of Indian cinema, this senior actor has been interested in tackling social issues in his films and even started the non-profit ViswaSanthi Foundation to support education, healthcare and socio-economic development.

Also read: Drishyam 3 is confirmed, says Mohanlal

Sudha Murthy: The educator, author and philanthropist has penned over 40 bestsellers and her contribution to literature in Kannada and English is well-known. Having won the Padma Bhushan in 2023 for social work, she often speaks out on issues facing young people

Dinesh Lal Yadav: The BJP leader and well-known Bhojpuri actor, singer and producer is one of the most successful Bhojpuri actors in India who has bagged several awards and accolades

R Madhavan: The actor, screenwriter, film producer and director is currently the president of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. He is known for his philanthropic work and promotes various causes such as education, health and environment.

Shreya Ghoshal: One of India’s most talented and versatile singers, she is vocal about social issues such as prevention of animal cruelty and has held fundraisers to support animal shelters in India.

Also read: Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi urges urgent action to tackle obesity crisis

Obesity cases doubled in recent years

Prime Minister Modi addressed the issue of obesity in the 119th episode of Mann Ki Baat. He had highlighted that obesity cases have doubled in the last few years.

"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. 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," he said.