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New Delhi. The Supreme Court has taken a strict stance regarding the increasing obesity in the country and the increasing consumption of junk food, especially among children. The court has asked the government to take an early decision regarding warning labels on both the front and back of packaged food, so that people can easily get information about foods high in sugar, salt and fat.

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The problem of obesity among children and adults has increased fivefold in the last 20 years; between 2000 and 2022, the obesity rate among school-going children and adolescents has increased from 2 percent to 10 percent. While hearing the PIL filed in this regard, the Supreme Court has indicated that people's health cannot be compromised. The Center will have to implement its order to put warning labels on the front of junk food packets. In this regard, the court has given an ultimatum of two weeks to the central government.

The court said that if the Center does it itself, then it is good, otherwise we will issue further instructions. We do not accept the Centre's arguments that it is not possible to be at par with international standards, especially those of developed countries. According to this argument, should India remain an underdeveloped country? Justice JB Pardiwala said that this is the question which we are putting for the consideration of the Centre. In its order, a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran linked the issue of food security to the right to life guaranteed under Article 21.

People's health is deteriorating due to eating junk food

The order has come in response to a PIL filed by NGO '3S and Our Health Society'. Petitioner's lawyer Rajeev Shankar Dwivedi said in his arguments that many years have passed since the instructions of the Supreme Court. In all this time, the government has not done anything in this direction while people's health is continuously deteriorating due to eating junk food. The order comes at a time when the government seems reluctant to put warning labels on the front of packets of junk food products. The Supreme Court said that foods high in salt, sugar, saturated fat and calories can pose risks to health. Displaying clear nutritional information is essential to help people choose healthy choices.

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Obesity problem increasing due to junk food

According to the Economic Survey 2025-26, India's ultra-processed food market is set to grow by more than 150 per cent between 2009 and 2023, while obesity has reportedly seen a five-fold increase.