The World Health Organisation has urged countries to promote healthy eating in schools, saying access to nutritious food can help children develop healthy dietary habits for life.

The organisation made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday, announcing the release of a new global guideline on evidence-based policies and interventions for healthy school food environments.

According to WHO, the guidelines, for the first time, advise countries to adopt a whole-school approach that ensures food and beverages provided and available within school environments are healthy and nutritious.

It said childhood overweight and obesity are rising globally, while undernutrition remains a persistent challenge, placing schools at the centre of what it described as a “double burden of malnutrition”.

“In 2025, about one in 10 school-aged children and adolescents, or 188 million, were living with obesity worldwide, surpassing for the first time the number of children who are underweight,” the organisation said.

The WHO director-general, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said that the food children eat at school and the environments that shape their choices have a profound impact on learning and long-term health.

“Getting nutrition right at school is critical for preventing disease later in life and creating healthier adults,” Mr Ghebreyesus said.

He added that healthy dietary practices begin early in life and that children spend a significant part of their day in school, making it a critical setting for shaping lifelong eating habits and reducing health and nutrition inequities.

Mr Ghebreyesus said that as of January 27, an estimated 466 million children worldwide receive school meals, yet there is limited information on the nutritional quality of the food served.

According to him, the guideline recommends improving school food provision to promote greater consumption of foods and beverages that support healthy diets.

He said the recommendations include setting standards to increase the availability and consumption of healthy foods and beverages while limiting unhealthy options, as well as implementing nudging interventions to encourage healthier food choices.

“Nudging interventions may include changes in the placement, presentation or pricing of food options available to children,” he said.

Mr Ghebreyesus stressed that policies alone were insufficient, noting that monitoring and enforcement mechanisms were essential for effective and consistent implementation.

He said data from the WHO Global Database on the Implementation of Food and Nutrition Action showed that as of October 2025, 104 member states had policies on healthy school food.

According to him, nearly three-quarters of those policies include mandatory criteria guiding the composition of school food, but only 48 countries restrict the marketing of foods high in sugar, salt or unhealthy fats.

He said the guideline was developed by a multidisciplinary group of international experts through a rigorous, transparent and evidence-based process.

“This work is a cornerstone of WHO’s broader mission to create healthy food environments and is implemented under initiatives such as the WHO Acceleration Plan to Stop Obesity and the Nutrition-Friendly Schools Initiative,” Mr Ghebreyesus said.

He added that the guideline supports action at national and subnational levels, recognising the role of state and city authorities in advancing school food initiatives.

Mr Ghebreyesus said WHO would support member states through technical assistance, knowledge-sharing and collaboration to adapt and implement the guideline.

(NAN)