The new Unicef report “Feeding Profit: How Food Environments Are Failing Children “ He launches a very clear alarm: in 2025, for the first time, obesity passed the underweight as a more widespread form of malnutrition between school -age children and teenagers. Currently, in these age groups, 1 in 10 children (about 188 million) is obese, while 1 in 5 (391 million) is overweight.
The increase in obesity does not spare any region of the world, except subsaharan Africa and southern Asia. Pacific insular countries record the highest percentages: 38% of children in Niue, 37% in the Cook Islands and 33% in Nauru. These values have doubled since 2000, mainly due to the transition from traditional diets to imported, cheap but high caloric content and poor in nutrients.
Even in high -income countries, infantile obesity is an health emergency: 27% of young people in Chile between 5 and 19 are found struggling with obesity, while in the United States and the United Arab Emirates the percentage is 21%. These numbers highlight a phenomenon that over the years has become increasingly Chairo: malnutrition in modern times is no longer only scarcity of food, but also excess of empty calories, which exposes children to diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood.
In a world split in half, while some children fight against obesity and diseases related to too much food (especially to unhealthy food), others suffer and die from scarcity of foods: two faces of the same global injustice.
The malnutrition from underweight and the shortcomings of micronutrients remain significant problems, especially in low and medium income countries. Since 2000, the number of children under 5 years of age with growth delay has decreased by 57 million, while children between 5 and 19 suffering from underweight decreased by 43 million. Still, millions of children continue not to receive essential nutrients.
On a global level, 54% of 6-23 months children did not consume eggs or meat the previous day, and 39% did not consume fruit or vegetables. These deficiencies are more widespread in southern Asia, eastern and southern Africa and western and central Africa, the same regions that record the highest prevalence of growth delay and deterioration in younger children.
It is also impossible to forget the dramatic reality of children in Gaza in these days.
What is increasing childhood obesity
UNICEF highlights that – obviously – the responsibility is not children: the problem arises from the unhealthy food environments in which they grow up. Supermarkets, schools, digital platforms and even smartphones applications are invaded by ultra-processed products, sugary and rich in unhealthy fats, while fresh and nourishing foods become increasingly expensive or difficult to find.
These contexts deeply influence the food choices of young people: they are not simply personal preferences, but a constant and omnipresent pressure. Digital marketing, in particular, allows food industries to reach children in a direct and persuasive way, ensuring that poorly healthy foods become the “normal” food reference.
A global survey of 64,000 young people between 13 and 24 years of age showed that 75% saw advertising of unhealthy foods in the previous week, and 60% admitted that this has increased the desire to consume them. Even in the contexts affected by conflicts, 68% of young people are exposed to this type of advertising.
In addition to advertising, the diffusion of ultra-processed foods is favored by their low cost, long conservation and widespread availability: supermarkets, minimarkets, vending machines and school canteens are often full of calorie but poor in nutrients. In many cases, traditional diets, more balanced and rich in fruit, vegetables and proteins, are gradually abandoned, with direct consequences on the growth, cognitive development and the metabolic health of children.
According to what Catherine Russell, the General Director of UNICEF:
Obesity is a growing problem that can affect the health and development of children. Ultra-processed foods are increasingly replacing fruit, vegetables and proteins at a time when nutrition plays a fundamental role in the growth, cognitive development and mental health of children.
According to UNICEF, without urgent interventions to change the food environments and limit exposure to ultra-processed foods, children will continue to be exposed to a high risk of obesity and related diseases, with economic and health impacts which, by 2035, could exceed 4,000 billion dollars a year at a global level.
The Italian situation
Even in Italy the picture is alarming. As the president of UNICEF Italia Nicola Graziano pointed out, although the percentage of overweight children and teenagers slightly decreased from 32% in 2000 to 27% in 2022, the obesity remains at 10% stable, indicating that a significant share of young people continues to be exposed to long -term health risks. At the same time, the underweight number of children increased from 1% to 2%, reminding us that malnutrition in all its forms is not yet a problem solved even in our country.
In Italy, as well as in the rest of the world, the situation has been created for a change in lifestyles and food environments, where high calorie foods and poor in nutrients are easily accessible, while healthier options become less present or less attractive. The UNICEF alarm underlines the need for targeted policies, food education and interventions at school and in the family to reverse this trend and guarantee balanced growth for all children.
What to do: UNICEF recommendations
To transform food contexts and guarantee nourishing diets for children, UNICEF invites governments and partners to intervene urgently for:
Don’t you want to lose our news?
You may also be interested in:
