Obesity has surpassed underweight as the most common form of malnutrition among school-age children and adolescents worldwide for the first time in history. UNICEF revealed this in a new report on Tuesday.

Children are considered overweight when they are significantly heavier than what is healthy for their age, sex, and height.

One in 10 children aged five to 19 or 188 million worldwide are now living with obesity, placing them at heightened risk of chronic diseases such as type-2 diabetes, heart conditions, and certain cancers.

“When we talk about malnutrition, we are no longer just talking about underweight children,” UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said. “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.”

The report, titled ‘Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children’, draws on data from more than 190 countries and highlights a stark shift. Since 2000, the number of underweight among five to 19-year-olds has dropped from nearly 13 per cent to 9.2 per cent.

In the same period, obesity has tripled, from three per cent to 9.4 per cent. Today, obesity rates exceed underweight in every region except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The situation is particularly acute in the Pacific Islands, where traditional diets have been displaced by cheap, energy-dense imported foods.

High-income countries are not exempt: 27 per cent of children in Chile, and 21 per cent in both the United States and the United Arab Emirates, are affected. Globally, one in five children and adolescents, or 391 million, are overweight, with nearly half now classified as obese.

Obesity is a severe form of overweight and leads to a higher risk of developing insulin resistance and high blood pressure. It also leads to life-threatening diseases later in life, including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers.

The report highlighted the influence of powerful commercial forces on these outcomes. Ultra-processed and fast foods, high in sugar, salt, unhealthy fats, and additives, dominate children’s diets and are aggressively marketed, influencing children’s diets.

In a UNICEF poll of 64,000 young people across 170 countries, 75 per cent reported seeing ads for sugary drinks, snacks, or fast food in the previous week. Sixty per cent said the ads made them want to eat the products, the patterns, UNICEF warns, carry staggering economic consequences.

By 2035, UNICEF warned that the global cost of overweight and obesity levels is projected to exceed four trillion dollars annually. However, UNICEF said that some governments are taking action, such as Mexico, where sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods account for 40 per cent of children’s daily calories.

Mexico has banned the sale in public schools, improving food environments for more than 34 million children.

UNICEF is urging governments worldwide to follow suit with sweeping reforms, including mandatory food labelling, marketing restrictions, and taxes on unhealthy products.

Other recommended measures include bans on junk food in schools; stronger social protection programmes; and safeguards to shield policymaking from industry interference. 

(NAN)