THRISSUR: Dr N K Arora, Executive Director, the Delhibased NGO INCLEN Trust International, on Friday warned that obesity is becoming a major health issue in India and it has to be tackled not just as an individual problem, but has to be addressed as a social challenge.

Dr Arora made this observation while delivering the annual oration of the Kerala University of Health Sciences at the alumni hall of the Thrissur government medical college.

He said children succumbing to life-style diseases and losing their lives before their parents was becoming a common predicament in the country.

The problems of obesity, diabetes and heart diseases among children can be addressed only through the collective effort of the society. The increasing demand for junk food from children and the widespread advertisements for such items through the media promote the growth of the junk food industry, he said.

According to Dr Arora the recent decision of the Kerala government to slap ‘fat tax’ osuch food items is a model worthy of emulation by other states and the Centre. INCLEN is a as a global network of clinical epidemiologists, biostatisticians, health social scientists, health economists and other health professionals affiliated with key academic health-care institutions.