Overview

• UNICEF says 2025 marks the first time global obesity among 5–19 year olds (9.4%) has surpassed underweight (9.2%) based on data from 190 countries.
• Overweight in this age group doubled between 2000 and 2022 to 391 million, with obesity reaching 8% in 2022 (163 million) and an estimated 188 million now living with obesity.
• The agency blames an unhealthy food environment dominated by ultra-processed products and pervasive marketing to children, including in schools, calling it a societal failure and rejecting exercise-only solutions.
• UNICEF urges governments to adopt binding measures including restrictions on advertising to children, taxes on sugary drinks and unhealthy foods, stronger front-of-pack labelling, and a shift toward fresh produce in food systems.
• The burden is widespread, with high rates in Chile (27%) and the United States (21%) and extreme levels in Pacific islands such as Niue (38%), alongside ‘double burden’ contexts and junk-food donations in some humanitarian crises.