In an interview, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had linked the problem of malnutrition in Gujarat to 'beauty-conscious' girls.

In response to a question about malnutrition in Gujarat, PM Modi had remarked that "middle class is more beauty conscious than health-conscious."

In response to a question about malnutrition in Gujarat, PM Modi had remarked that "middle class is more beauty conscious than health-conscious."In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in August 2012, Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was the then Chief Minister of Gujarat had spoken about the problem of malnutrition in India. His response to a question about the challenges posed by malnutrition in the state had sparked a controversy.

He said: "We are the first state in the country to raise the issue of malnutrition. It came to our mind that Gujarat is by and large a vegetarian state. And secondly, Gujarat is also a middle-class state. The middle class is more beauty conscious than health conscious – that is a challenge. If a mother tells her daughter to have milk, they'll have a fight. She'll tell her mother, 'I won't drink milk. I'll get fat.' They have money but she's beauty conscious, she's not health conscious. So being a middle-class state is also a problem for me. A large segment of the population in my state is middle-class. Second is vegetarianism. So a lot needs to be explained to both the beauty conscious and the health-conscious. We have to request to them that there should be a good nutritional situation."