India Takes Battle Against Junk Food to Shops Near Schools

With childhood obesity rising rapidly, India is moving towards restricting the sale of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar within 50 meters of the country’s approximately 1.5 million schools. The proposed rules would affect everything from sugary drinks and chips to chocolates, pizzas, and burgers. India is also considering prominent warning labels on packaged foods containing high levels of fat, salt, or sugar.

The scale of the problem is considerable. The number of Indian children aged between 5 and 19 who are overweight or obese rose from 28 million in 2015 to 41 million in 2025 and is projected to reach 56 million by 2040. Food businesses and some shopkeepers have expressed concern about the proposed restrictions, arguing that they could reduce sales and be difficult to enforce. India’s food regulator counters that shops can sell healthier alternatives and says the measures are also intended to encourage manufacturers to reformulate their products.

There are encouraging signs that such an approach can work. After Chile introduced warning labels and restrictions on junk-food sales and promotion in schools, research found reductions in the probability of children developing excess weight, while manufacturers reformulated many products. Ultimately, however, preventing childhood obesity requires more than warning labels and restrictions. Children need access to diets based predominantly on fresh, minimally processed foods that naturally provide the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other micronutrients their growing bodies require. Protecting children from the aggressive promotion of nutritionally poor foods is an important step towards achieving this.

To read about a ban on junk food in Mexico’s schools that entered into effect in 2025, see this news story on our website.