Weight problems now exceeds underweight in all areas of the world, besides sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Photograph: macrovector on Freepik
Weight problems surpassed underweight as essentially the most prevalent type of malnutrition this yr, affecting one in 10,or 188 million, school-aged youngsters and adolescents, and inserting them vulnerable to life-threatening ailments, UNICEF warned in a brand new report.
Weight problems now exceeds underweight in all areas of the world, besides sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The report attracts on information from over 190 international locations and finds that, globally, one in 20 youngsters beneath 5 years of age (5%), and one in 5 youngsters and adolescents aged 5-19 years (20%) reside with obese.
2025 marks a historic turning level — for the primary time, the worldwide prevalence of weight problems amongst school-age youngsters and adolescents has surpassed that of underweight (9.4% versus 9.2%). This quantities to an estimated 188 million youngsters and adolescents aged 15-19 years residing with weight problems in 2025, in contrast with 184 million youngsters and adolescents residing with underweight, the report states.
The report attracts on information from over 190 international locations, and finds the prevalence of underweight amongst youngsters aged 5-19 years has declined since 2000, from almost 13% to 9.2%, whereas weight problems charges have elevated from 3% to 9.4%. The report states that weight problems ranges have gone up largely pushed by a shift from conventional diets to low cost, energy-dense, imported meals.
“After we discuss malnutrition, we’re now not simply speaking about underweight youngsters,” UNICEF Govt Director Catherine Russell stated. “Weight problems is a rising concern that may influence the well being and growth of youngsters. Extremely-processed meals is more and more changing fruits, greens and protein at a time when vitamin performs a crucial position in youngsters’s development, cognitive growth and psychological well being.”
Whereas undernutrition — resembling losing and stunting — stays a big concern amongst youngsters beneath 5 years in most low- and middle-income international locations, the prevalence of obese and weight problems is growing amongst school-aged youngsters and adolescents.
Youngsters are thought of obese when they’re considerably heavier than what’s wholesome for his or her age, intercourse, and top.
Weight problems is a extreme type of obese and results in a better danger of creating insulin resistance and hypertension, in addition to life-threatening ailments later in life, together with Kind 2 diabetes, heart problems, and sure cancers.
The report warns that ultra-processed and quick meals — excessive in sugar, refined starch, salt, unhealthy fat and components — are shaping youngsters’s diets via unhealthy meals environments, relatively than private selection. These merchandise dominate retailers and colleges, whereas digital advertising provides the meals and beverage business highly effective entry to younger audiences.
The report additional provides that with out interventions to forestall childhood obese and weight problems, international locations might face lifetime well being and financial impacts.
To remodel meals environments and guarantee youngsters have entry to nutritious diets, UNICEF is looking on governments, civil society, and companions to urgently implement complete obligatory insurance policies to enhance youngsters’s meals environments, together with meals labelling, meals advertising restrictions, and meals taxes and subsidies and usher in social and behavior change initiatives that empower households and communities to demand more healthy meals environments.
It has additionally proposed to ban sale of ultra-processed and junk meals in colleges, and prohibit meals advertising and sponsorship in colleges, amongst different initiatives.
Revealed – September 11, 2025 02:22 am IST
