How much fat in a samosa? Noida schools to put up oil boards
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on July 15 issued a circular, asking all schools to display 'oil boards' in common areas such as cafeterias and lobbies. On these digital or physical posters, the circular said, schools must list out fat or oil content in different food items, such as 28g fat in one piece of samosa, 10g fat in a kachori, and 17g fat in a handful of fries.
The move, the board said, was announced keeping in view the trend of rising obesity levels among youngsters across India.
You Can Also Check:
Noida AQI
|
Weather in Noida
|
Bank Holidays in Noida
|
Public Holidays in Noida
"Data points out that there is a sharp rise in obesity among both adults and children. As per NFHS-5 (2019-21), over one in five adults in urban areas are overweight or obese. According to The Lancet GBD 2021 obesity forecasting study, published in 2025, the number of overweight and obese adults in India is projected to rise from 18 crore in 2021 to 44.9 crore by 2050, making it the country with the second-highest global burden.
The prevalence of childhood obesity is impacted mostly by poor dietary habits and reduced physical activity," the circular read.
CBSE's directive is similar to the notice issued on May 14, which asked all schools to display 'sugar boards'.
Parents and school managements in Noida and Ghaziabad said on Thursday that it was an important initiative.
"We wholeheartedly welcome CBSE's directive to display 'oil boards'.
This is a vital extension of the earlier 'sugar board' initiative, and it reflects a strong, unified approach to tackle childhood obesity and unhealthy dietary habits. These boards will serve as daily reminders — educating students on the dangers of excessive oil consumption, eating junk food like chips, fries, and even muffins, cookies and cakes," said Naresh Ramamurthy, the national academic head at ORCHIDS, The International School.
Some schools said that they would also include questions on oil and sugar content in food items in the general knowledge (GK) syllabus or in quiz sessions.
"For a long time, we promoted healthy food habits. We also make scheduled tiffin routines for all classes. When the 'sugar board' concept was introduced, we asked students to make wall magazines for classes and corridors. Now, we are planning to include 'fat-fact' pointers in the GK syllabus.
Out of 50 marks, 10-20 points will be on food habits," said Seema Jerath, principal of DLF Public School, Ghaziabad.
Principal of Apeejay School in Noida, Neha Sharma, said she will introduce 'nukad natak' and presentations on health food habits.
"Putting sugar or oil boards on chart papers is not enough. To make students aware of healthy habits and internalise the facts, the school has decided to do something that will make students curious.
We will conduct nukkad natak and convey the message to parents," Sharma said.
Sujata, whose daughter studies in a CBSE school in Noida, said kids don't tend to listen to their parents.
"Children are always inclined towards junk food, cold drinks and fast food. Since they spend most of their time in schools, keeping a healthy habit will definitely be a good choice. Moreover, when they see other classmates following the same, it will influence them," she said.
Nishant, a Class 7 student, said schools can moderate junk food availability on the campus. "Tasty food is always desirable. If I get home made food that tastes good, I'm okay with it. Schools can allow junk food sometimes, if not always. But it's true that consumption of more oily food will lead to several issues when we grow up," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
4 hours ago
- The Hindu
Global childhood vaccination slowed by pandemic: study
GUWAHATI Global childhood vaccination rates, hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, did not return to the pre-pandemic levels by 2023, a study published in The Lancet has revealed. The study also marked India among eight countries that accounted for more than half of the world's 15.7 million 'zero-dose' children in 2023. Zero-dose refers to children who did not receive the first dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP). The other seven countries are Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Somalia, and Sudan. 'The study highlights the progress and challenges in global childhood vaccination efforts from 1980 to 2023. it shows that the coverage for key vaccines for DTP, measles, polio, and tuberculosis nearly doubled over this period, but the positive trend hides some worrying developments,' Hemen Sarma, an associate professor at Assam's Bodoland University, said on July 24, 2025. A GBD (Global Burden of Diseases) senior collaborator with the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Mr Sarma is one of the authors of the study involving researchers worldwide. The study underscored the slowdown in the vaccination progress in many countries and territories between 2010 and 2019, with 21 out of 36 high-income nations witnessing a drop in coverage for at least one vaccine. It said the COVID-19 pandemic made things worse, 'with global rates for these vaccines declining sharply since 2020, and still not returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels as of 2023'. 'Vaccines introduced more recently, such as those for pneumonia, rotavirus, and the second dose of the measles vaccine, continued to expand during the pandemic, but at a slower pace. Only the third dose of DTP is expected to meet the global target of 90% coverage by 2030, and that too in the most optimistic scenarios,' Mr Sarma said. One of the concerns underlined by the study was the rise in the number of zero-dose children during the pandemic after dropping sharply from 1980 to 2019, peaking at 18.6 million in 2021. Most of these children live in conflict zones or areas with limited healthcare access, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The study has warned that unless urgent action is taken, global immunisation targets will not be met. It called for focused efforts to strengthen healthcare systems, fight vaccine misinformation, and reach the most underserved communities, especially in Africa and South Asia. Campaigns like the World Health Organisation's 'Big Catch-Up' and efforts to restore routine immunisation must prioritise these areas to regain lost ground and ensure every child is protected, the study said. The study has provided updated global, regional, and national estimates of routine childhood vaccine coverage across 204 countries and territories for 11 vaccine-dose combinations recommended by WHO for all children globally. Employing advanced modelling techniques, this analysis accounted for data biases and heterogeneity and integrated new methodologies to model vaccine scale-up and COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions. To contextualise historic coverage trends and gains still needed to achieve the WHO's Immunisation Agenda 2030 coverage targets, the researchers assessed the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on vaccine coverage, forecast coverage of select life-course vaccines up to 2030, and analysed the progress needed to reduce the number of zero-dose children by half between 2023 and 2030.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
a day ago
- Business Standard
Apollo, Siemens collaborate to advance liver healthcare with AI innovation
Apollo Hospitals and Siemens Healthineers on Wednesday announced a research collaboration founded on a shared ambition to advance innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) and imaging technologies, with the goal of improving lives. The research, spanning quantitative ultrasound imaging to AI-driven clinical solutions, aims to enhance liver disease management by improving patient care pathways and outcomes—from early detection and risk stratification to monitoring intervention and therapy response. The partnership combines technical and clinical expertise to develop innovative healthcare solutions for the growing burden of liver diseases in India, with a focus on early diagnosis, accurate detection, and precise monitoring to improve patient outcomes. As per Government of India guidelines, Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), referred to as NAFLD in the report, is a growing cause of liver disease in India. Its prevalence ranges from 9 per cent to 32 per cent and is higher among individuals who are overweight, obese, or have diabetes. According to NFHS-4 (2015–2016), 18–20 per cent of adults are overweight or obese and 3–8 per cent have abnormal blood sugar levels. MASLD significantly increases cardiovascular risk, with heart disease being the leading cause of death. 'At Apollo, we believe that the future of healthcare lies at the intersection of clinical excellence and cutting-edge technology anchored in patient centricity. Our collaboration with Siemens Healthineers is a transformative step in using AI to redefine non-invasive diagnostics for liver disease. Due to diagnostic challenges and the evolving understanding of the disease, the true prevalence of MASLD may be underestimated. This poses a significant public health challenge, requiring increased awareness, early detection, and effective management strategies,' said Sangita Reddy, joint managing director, Apollo Hospitals. 'AI-driven disease progression models will play a pivotal role in the early detection of fibrosis, allowing timely interventions, cost-effective screening, and improved patient outcomes. These models will also facilitate precision population health strategies and clinical decision support across care settings. This partnership reflects Apollo's pioneering vision to embed intelligent systems across the clinical spectrum that enable faster, more accurate diagnoses and proactive patient management,' she added. 'Liver disease is a growing health concern in India. It's crucial to prioritise early diagnosis and prevention through advanced diagnostic tools, lifestyle changes, and increased awareness to reverse this trend. We believe that advanced technologies will aid timely and precise diagnosis, leading to better disease management and improved quality of life for patients. Our joint effort will help address the unmet needs in liver disease diagnosis and treatment, and we look forward to a fruitful partnership,' said Hariharan Subramanian, managing director, Siemens Healthcare. Following the 2024 memorandum of understanding, the Master Research Agreement (MRA) was formalised in March 2025, establishing a foundation for collaborative research in diagnostic and interventional ultrasound imaging. The signing ceremony for the MRA addendum was held on July 23, 2025, in Hyderabad, marking a significant milestone in this partnership.
United News of India
2 days ago
- United News of India
28 pc Odisha kids are stunted, 12 pc underweight, reveals Poshan Tracker data
States » East Bhubaneswar, July 23 (UNI) Nearly 28 per cent children under six years of age in Odisha are stunted while 12 per cent are found to be underweight. Similarly 3.21 per cent of children in the 0-5 age group were found to be wasted and 11.63 per cent children underweight, according to Poshan Tracker data for the month of June 2025. Poshan Tracker consists of pregnant women, lactating mothers, children up to 6 years of age and adolescent girls as beneficiaries. It keeps track of intervention to the beneficiaries and their progress is further monitored by Supervisors, CDPOs and DPOs through daily and monthly reports. The levels of underweight and wasting in children as obtained from Poshan Tracker are much less than those projected by NFHS 5, said official sources. As per the World Health Organization's Child Growth Standard, stunting causes irreversible physical and mental damage to children. A stunted child is too short for their age, does not fully develop and stunting reflects chronic under-nutrition during the most critical periods of growth and development in early life, said pediatricians. Similarly, a child is regarded as underweight if they're in the bottom 5th percentile for weight compared to their height. Underweight is not only classified compared to other children their age, but to their height as we clinically look for a child to be proportionate, they said. The child stunting and underweight issues occur to below five years of kids mostly due to malnutrition and lack of unhygienic living conditions, they said adding that nutrient content in food intake could help them recover from these physical deficiencies. UNI XC BM
