New Delhi, March 29 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged citizens to reduce their sugar intake and cut down on cooking oil by 10 percent, saying that such small efforts will keep people away from obesity and lifestyle diseases.
In his monthly radio address, ‘Mann Ki Baat’, Modi said that many people have commented on Instagram content creator Yuvraj Dua's post, in which he had requested the prime minister to ask his father to reduce his sugar intake.
"I am happy that my request had a positive impact on his father. I would urge all of you to reduce your sugar intake, and as I have said earlier, we also need to cut down on cooking oil by 10 percent. These small efforts will keep you away from obesity and lifestyle diseases," Modi said.
The prime minister said that he has always urged everyone to pay attention to fitness.
“Now, less than 100 days are left for International Yoga Day; the attraction towards yoga is also rising continuously all over the world. Almis Ji is promoting yoga through his Arvind Yoga Centre in Djibouti, Africa. He also teaches yoga to people in many other places," he said.
Almis Ji is a yoga practitioner and promoter based in Djibouti, Africa, who gained international recognition after being lauded by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is the founder of the Arvind Yoga Centre in Djibouti.
Modi said he often says that “the one who plays will blossom”, and he was happy to see that the country's youth are now embracing sports that were not as popular before.
Gulveer Singh, a talented athlete from Uttar Pradesh, has done wonders in one such sport, and just a few weeks ago, he created history by finishing third in the New York City Half Marathon, he said.
Singh became the first Indian athlete to complete a half-marathon in under an hour.
He also mentioned squash player "daughter Anahat Singh", who won a major international title in the Squash on Fire Open.
She achieved this success at just 17 years of age, becoming the youngest Asian female player to make it to the top-20 in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Ranking, he added.
The prime minister said, "I also came to know about the Asmita Athletics League. In this, many sporting events were organised on the occasion of Women's Day on the 8th of March. Around 2 lakh daughters participated in the league.”
“It is good to see that the women of India are playing an important role in this sporting transformation taking place in the country," he said.