Obesity has overtaken underweight as the most common form of malnutrition among children and teenagers, according to a hard-hitting new UNICEF report.
The study, Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children, reveals that one in ten school-aged children and adolescents worldwide – some 188 million – are now living with obesity. The findings draw on data from more than 190 countries.
While the prevalence of underweight among children aged 5 to 19 has fallen from nearly 13 per cent in 2000 to 9.2 per cent today, obesity has more than tripled, rising from 3 per cent to 9.4 per cent. Obesity rates now outstrip underweight in every region of the world, with the exception of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
The Pacific Islands have emerged as the global epicentre of the crisis. More than a third of children in Niue, the Cook Islands and Nauru are classified as obese – double the levels recorded at the turn of the millennium. UNICEF points to a shift away from traditional diets towards imported, highly processed foods as the main driver.
High-income countries are also grappling with the problem. In Chile, 27 per cent of children aged 5 to 19 are obese, while in the United States and the United Arab Emirates the figure is 21 per cent.
Globally, one in five children and adolescents – around 391 million – are overweight, with a large proportion falling into the category of obesity. This condition carries severe health risks, including insulin resistance, high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers later in life.
The report argues that the problem is not down to individual choice but to food environments dominated by ultra-processed and fast foods. Laden with sugar, starch, salt, unhealthy fats and additives, these products are marketed aggressively to young audiences, often through digital channels. Shops, schools and communities are flooded with unhealthy options, making nutritious choices harder to access.
UNICEF warns that without urgent reforms to reshape food environments, children’s health and futures will continue to be undermined by an epidemic of diet-related disease.
