As part of a drive conducted on an ongoing basis to encourage healthier living habits among school children, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has suggested a new requirement for the fitting of ‘Oil Boards’ in all affiliated schools. The step is part of a July 15, 2025 circular and addendum to CBSE’s previously existing “Sugar Boards” initiative, in evidence of increased efforts from the board in encouraging preventive health, awareness, and behavioural modification among students.

The ‘Oil Boards’ program aims to reverse surging anxiety about poor eating habits, especially the indiscriminate consumption of oil and fat, which has also come strongly linked with rising childhood obesity in India. It follows alarming national health reports. The National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21) found that over one in five urban Indian adults were overweight or obese. More recently, an exhaustive study in The Lancet earlier this year as a part of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD 2021) report placed a rough estimate of the staggering increase in India’s obesity burden. India is likely to see its number of overweight and obese adults grow from 18 crore in 2021 to almost 45 crore by the year 2050, said the report, catapulting the country to the second spot globally in obesity prevalence.

The runaway increase in lifestyle disorders prompted the CBSE to ask schools to adopt a comprehensive and proactive attitude towards health education and awareness on nutrition. Behind the ‘Oil Boards’ campaign is the belief that students need to be taught the negative impact of excessive oil consumption, which mainly comes in the form of fried foods and high-fat food and is largely found in children’s daily diets. The campaign seeks to have an impact on school grounds visually by placing digital and static boards in open areas like school cafeterias, lobbies, and corridors. They will feature interesting messages and insightful information that alert students of the long-term health consequences of unhealthy food intake.

But the initiative is not just visual warnings. CBSE has requested that schools spread this health message to all levels of student activity by including awareness signals on official school stationery. Letterheads, folders, notebooks, and notepads employed by students as well as teachers now have printed messages promoting healthy eating habits and lower oil intake. In this way, the message becomes a part of day-to-day academic life and isn’t limited to certain campaigns or activities.

In addition, CBSE has reaffirmed the role of developing a health-promoting environment in schools by increasing access to nutritious food and physical activity. To complement these efforts, more fruits, vegetables, and low-fat food products are being encouraged to be provided by schools in their canteens while limiting fizzy drinks and high-calorie foods. To support these dietary enhancements, schools are also called upon to implement activity-based interventions like promoting the use of stairs instead of elevators, the incorporation of brief physical activity breaks throughout the school day, and the provision of walking routes across campus.

One of the most vital aspects of this project is the experiential learning component, where active student participation is promoted. CBSE has suggested that the students be made to contribute towards the designing and personalizing of the ‘Oil Boards’ so that they feel more of an ownership of the health messages. This participatory process would create a sense of ownership and responsibility among students and make the campaign more acceptable and effective.

To further support schools in rolling out this initiative, CBSE has highlighted the availability of IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) materials developed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Schools can access a range of educational resources, including posters and awareness videos, through FSSAI’s official YouTube channel. These materials are intended to supplement classroom instruction and school activities with credible, age-appropriate, and engaging content on nutrition and healthy living.

This new standard indicates CBSE’s increasing role in reducing lifestyle diseases among children and adolescents through structural transformation. Through the integration of preventive health education into the school setting—be it through billboards, daily reading material, or menus—the board seeks to plant healthy habits into impressionable minds. The ‘Oil Boards’ campaign is not merely a campaign, but a plea to awaken schools, parents, and children to the nutrition awareness and act before the childhood obesity crisis worsens.