Health

Study: Child Obesity Surpasses Underweight for First Time

Published SEP 10 2025

Story

Image credit: Unsplash

The Facts

According to a study by UNICEF, the global prevalence of obesity among school-age children and adolescents exceeded underweight for the first time in 2025, with 9.4% of five to 19-year-olds considered obese compared to 9.2% underweight.
Unicef
BBC News
Obesity rates among children aged 5-19 have more than tripled since 2000, rising from 3% to 9.4%, while underweight rates declined from nearly 13% to 9.2% during the same period.
TheJournal.ie
The Nightly
Approximately 188 million school-aged children and adolescents worldwide are classified as obese, representing one in 10 children globally and putting them at risk of lifelong health problems.
The Nightly
guardian
RTE.ie
Pacific Island countries show the highest obesity rates globally. At least 38% of five to 19-year-olds are obese in Niue and 37% in the Cook Islands, due to shifts from traditional diets to imported foods.
The Sun
guardian
Obesity now exceeds underweight in all regions of the world except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with rates reaching 21% in both the U.S. and the UAE.
The Sun
TheJournal.ie
BBC News
Ultra-processed foods, which are high in sugar, salt, and fat, dominate food environments. Notably, 75% of young people aged 13-24 from 170 countries reported seeing advertisements for sugary drinks or fast food on a weekly basis.
guardian
The Nightly

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

We stand at humanity's precipice. Childhood obesity has eclipsed starvation as our gravest nutritional threat — a catastrophic reversal that condemns entire generations to shortened lives riddled with diabetes, heart disease, and psychological torment. This isn't mere statistics; it's the systematic destruction of our future, demanding immediate, revolutionary action before irreversible damage is done.

Newsweek

WHO

Narrative B

Humanity's darkest nutritional chapter may be coming to an end. For the first time in decades, adult obesity rates have declined, coinciding with revolutionary GLP-1 medications that rewire our brains' relationship with food. These aren't mere treatments — they're biological liberation from engineered addiction. Science has finally given us weapons against the ultraprocessed poison destroying our children's futures.

The New York Times