For the first time in recorded history, children and adolescents living with obesity have outnumbered those who are underweight, according to new data from UNICEF.
The shift marks what experts describe as a “historic turning point” in global nutrition, with obesity now the most prevalent form of malnutrition.
The report, Feeding Profit: How Food Environments Are Failing Children, shows that one in five young people aged 5 to 19 — about 391 million — are overweight, most of them obese. In 2025, an estimated 188 million adolescents were living with obesity, compared with 184 million who were underweight.
“When a child develops obesity, they face serious health risks for longer, with a high likelihood these risks will persist into adulthood,” the report said. UNICEF’s executive director, Catherine Russell, warned that ultra-processed foods are increasingly replacing fruits, vegetables and protein. “Nutrition plays a critical role in growth, cognitive development and mental health,” she said.
The trend is visible in Kenya, where more than half of children under two consume sugary foods and drinks, according to the 2022 Kenya Demographic Health Survey. Only four in ten children receive a minimally diverse diet.
Nutritionists warn that childhood obesity is often tied to rising household incomes, sedentary lifestyles and heavy exposure to junk food advertising. A UNICEF analysis of six countries, including Kenya, found that nearly 90 percent of food ads on social media promoted unhealthy products high in fat, sugar and salt.
The report calls for urgent action: banning ultra-processed foods high in sugar and salt from children’s diets, tightening restrictions on digital marketing, and introducing clear food labeling, taxes and subsidies to reshape food environments.
“Acting now could prevent millions of children from facing lifelong health risks,” the report concluded.
