Obesity surpassed underweight as the more prevalent form of malnutrition this year, affecting 1 in 10 - or 188 million - school-aged children and adolescents, and placing them at risk of life-threatening disease, UNICEF warned in a new report today.
Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children draws on data from over 190 countries and finds the prevalence of underweight among children aged 5-19 has declined since 2000, from nearly 13 per cent to 9.2 per cent, while obesity rates have increased from 3 per cent to 9.4 per cent. Obesity now exceeds underweight in all regions of the world, except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
According to the findings, several Pacific Island countries have the highest prevalence of obesity globally, including 38 per cent of 5 to 19-year-olds in Niue, 37 per cent in Cook Islands, and 33 per cent in Nauru. These levels - which have all doubled since 2000 - are largely driven by a shift from traditional diets to cheap, energy-dense, imported foods.
Meanwhile, many high-income countries continue to have high levels of obesity, for example 27 per cent of 5 to 19-year-olds in Chile are living with obesity, 21 per cent in the United States, and 21 per cent in the United Arab Emirates.
"When we talk about malnutrition, we are no longer just talking about underweight children," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Obesity is a growing concern that can impact the health and development of children. Ultra-processed food is increasingly replacing fruits, vegetables and protein at a time when nutrition plays a critical role in children's growth, cognitive development and mental health."
While undernutrition - such as wasting and stunting - remains a significant concern among children under 5 in most low- and middle-income countries, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing among school aged children and adolescents. According to the latest available data, 1 in 5 children and adolescents aged 5-19 globally - or 391 million - are overweight, with a large proportion of them now classified as living with obesity.
Children are considered overweight when they are significantly heavier than what is healthy for their age, sex and height. Obesity is a severe form of overweight and leads to a higher risk of developing insulin resistance and high blood pressure, as well as life-threatening diseases later in life, including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers.
The report warns that ultra-processed and fast foods - high in sugar, refined starch, salt, unhealthy fats and additives - are shaping children's diets through unhealthy food environments, rather than personal choice. These products dominate shops and schools, while digital marketing gives the food and beverage industry powerful access to young audiences.
For example, in a global poll of 64,000 young people aged 13-24 from over 170 countries conducted through UNICEF's U-Report platform last year, 75 per cent of respondents recalled seeing advertisements for sugary drinks, snacks, or fast foods in the previous week, and 60 per cent said the advertisements increased their desire to eat the foods. Even in conflict-affected countries, 68 per cent of young people said they were exposed to these advertisements.
Without interventions to prevent childhood overweight and obesity, countries could face lifetime health and economic impacts exceeding, for example, US$210 billion in Peru, due to obesity-related health issues. By 2035, the global economic impact of overweight and obesity is expected to surpass US$4 trillion annually.
The report highlights positive steps governments have taken. For example, in Mexico - a country facing a high prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity, and where sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods account for 40 per cent of children's daily calories, the government recently banned the sale and distribution of ultra-processed foods and items high in salt, sugar and fat in public schools - positively impacting food environments for over 34 million children.
To transform food environments and ensure children have access to nutritious diets, UNICEF is calling on governments, civil society, and partners to urgently:
- Implement comprehensive mandatory policies to improve children's food environments, including food labelling, food marketing restrictions, and food taxes and subsidies.
- Implement social and behaviour change initiatives that empower families and communities to demand healthier food environments.
- Ban the provision or sale of ultra-processed and junk foods in schools and prohibit food marketing and sponsorship in schools.
- Establish strong safeguards to protect public policy processes from interference by the ultra-processed food industry.
- Strengthen social protection programmes to address income poverty and improve financial access to nutritious diets for vulnerable families.
"In many countries we are seeing the double burden of malnutrition - the existence of stunting and obesity. This requires targeted interventions," said Russell. "Nutritious and affordable food must be available to every child to support their growth and development. We urgently need policies that support parents and caretakers to access nutritious and healthy foods for their children."
