Esther Imonmion
Childhood obesity has overtaken underweight as the most common form of malnutrition among school-aged children and adolescents, according to a new UNICEF report released Thursday.
The study, Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children, draws on data from more than 190 countries. It finds that 188 million children aged 5 to 19 – nearly one in ten worldwide – are living with obesity, a sharp rise from just 3 percent in 2000. By contrast, underweight prevalence has declined from 13 percent to 9.2 percent over the same period.
Obesity rates now surpass underweight in every region except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The Pacific Islands record the world’s highest levels: 38 percent of children in Niue, 37 percent in the Cook Islands, and 33 percent in Nauru are obese, with rates more than doubling since 2000 due to a shift from traditional diets to cheap, imported, calorie-dense foods.
High-income countries also face severe challenges. In Chile, 27 percent of children are obese, compared with 21 percent in both the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Globally, about 391 million children and adolescents – one in five – are overweight, with a large proportion classified as obese.
Obesity in childhood raises the risk of insulin resistance, high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers later in life.
The report stresses that the problem is being fueled not by individual choice but by unhealthy food environments dominated by ultra-processed products high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. Such foods are heavily marketed to children, especially online, and are increasingly present in schools and local shops.
While undernutrition, including stunting and wasting, remains a major concern among children under five in low- and middle-income countries, UNICEF warns that the surge in obesity among older children now represents an equally urgent global health crisis.