More children are obese than underweight in world-first, UNICEF warns

More children worldwide are now obese than underweight for the first time, due partly to rampant junk food access, the United Nations said in a new report.

While the share of school-aged children and teenagers who are underweight has fallen since the turn of the century – from 13 per cent to 9.2 per cent – obesity rates have risen from 3 per cent to 9.4 per cent, according to UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.

The only regions where children are still more likely to be underweight than obese are sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

That translates to about 188 million children aged 5 to 19 with obesity globally in 2025, putting them at risk of serious health complications, the report warned. An estimated 184 million children are underweight.

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

She added that obesity is a “growing concern” for children’s health and development.

In western Europe, an estimated 25 per cent of school-aged children and teenagers are overweight, about the same level as two decades ago, the report shows.

UNICEF said ultra-processed foods are a key culprit behind the rising child obesity rate globally. These foods – such as crisps, sweetened breakfast cereals, and frozen pizzas – tend to be high in sugar, refined starch, salt, unhealthy fats, and artificial colours and flavours.

They have been linked to obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and early death.

In several countries, ultra-processed foods make up more than half of children’s daily total calories, and some have taken steps to restrict their advertising and make ultra-processed foods less appealing to children.

The UNICEF report cited a global survey of 64,000 young people last year that 75 per cent of respondents had recently seen advertisements for sugary drinks, snacks, and fast food – and that 60 per cent said the ads made them want to eat these unhealthy foods.

“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,” Russell said.

The dominance of ultra-processed foods has created a picture of two extremes, the report said.

In lower-income countries, many toddlers and young children are so undernourished that they experience wasting and stunting, which can have irreversible consequences for their development – and at the same time, millions of older children and adolescents are overweight or obese.

“In many countries we are seeing the double burden of malnutrition – the existence of stunting and obesity,” Russell said. “This requires targeted interventions”.

The agency called for governments to take steps to boost child nutrition, including food marketing restrictions and labelling, bans on junk food sales in schools, and social programmes to make it easier for lower-income families to buy healthy foods.