Parliament Question: Issue of Childhood Hypertension and Obesity

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 1025 TOBE ANSWERED ON24.07.2026 ISSUE OFCHILDHOOD HYPERTENSION AND OBESITY 1025.SHRIPC MOHAN: Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFARE be pleasedtostate: (a) the details of the guidance document on Diabetes Mellitus in Children released by the Government, including the screening, diagnosis and free care package envisaged for childrenaged0-18 years; (b) whether anysimilar structured guidelines exist or are beingformulated by the Government for childhoodhypertension andobesity, giventhat India rankssecond globallyinchildhood obesity,if so, the detailsthereof; (c) the details of the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) 2.0 and itsexpanded school- based screening for non-communicablediseases andmental healthamongchildren;and (d) the measures being takenby the Government tocurb the rising incidence of these lifestyle- related health issues among children, including awareness generation for parents and schools? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH ANDFAMILY WELFARE (SMT.ANUPRIYAPATEL) (a) The Guidance Document on Diabetes Mellitus in Children released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the expanded Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) 2.0 framework provides for structured childhood diabetes care. The framework includes screening of children in schools and community for risk factors of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and availability of diagnostic services at public health facilities. It makes provision for access to insulin therapy, monitoring devices such as glucometers and test strips along with regular follow-up and counselling services at Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) clinicsfor the managementof DM inchildren.(b) & (c) The operational guideliness of RBSK 2.0 of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has expanded the programmatic framework to cover 38 common health conditions. The revised guidelines include emerging child health priorities such as non- communicable diseases including diabetes and hypertension, mental health conditions, and behaviouralconcernsamongchildren. The existing Mobile Health Teams (MHTs) under RBSK are strengthened through additional support of human resources from other existing health programs under National Health Mission for screening in Schools and Anganwadi centres. A comprehensive preventive, promotive, and curative continuum of care approach is used for tracking and follow-up using a digitalplatform for effectiveimplementation (d) To generate awareness among children and parents regarding lifestyle-related health issues, and to strengthen healthy lifestyle practices Information Education and Communication (IEC) materials like health booklet, videos, and posters have been developed, and shared with States/UTs for dissemination inthe community. ******