For the first time in the world, the level of obesity in children and adolescents has exceeded the level of underweight - UNICEF
Kyiv • UNN
In 2025, the global level of obesity among children and adolescents (5-19 years old) for the first time exceeded the level of underweight. According to UNICEF, obesity affects 188 million people in 190 countries.
In 2025, for the first time in history, the global level of obesity among children and adolescents (aged 5 to 19) exceeded the level of underweight, according to a report by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). According to the organization's assessment, obesity affects one in ten children and adolescents in 190 countries, totaling about 188 million people, writes UNN.
The prevalence of underweight among children aged 5 to 19 decreased from 13% to 9.2% since 2000, while obesity rates increased from 3% to 9.4%. Currently, obesity exceeds underweight in all regions of the world, with the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Several Pacific island nations have the highest prevalence of obesity in the world: 38% among adolescents in Niue, 37% in the Cook Islands, and 33% in Nauru. These rates, which have doubled since 2000, are largely due to the shift from traditional diets to cheap, high-calorie imported foods.
Many high-income countries still have high levels of obesity: for example, 27% of children in Chile suffer from obesity, and 21% in the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
One in five children and adolescents worldwide, or 391 million people, are overweight, with a significant portion of them currently classified as obese.
The report notes that ultra-processed foods and fast food high in sugar, refined starch, salt, unhealthy fats, and additives shape children's diets not by their own choice, but due to an unhealthy food environment. These products dominate stores and schools, and digital marketing gives the food industry powerful access to a young audience.
Without measures to prevent overweight and obesity in children, countries may face lifelong medical and economic consequences, exceeding, for example, $210 billion in Peru, due to obesity-related health problems. The global economic impact of overweight and obesity is expected to exceed $4 trillion annually by 2035.
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