More Kids Suffer From Obesity Than Underweight Due To Processed Food: UN Report
A recent UN report revealed that more kids are now overweight than underweight, suggesting a notable variation from the pattern so far. While poverty-induced underweight was the major concern previously, the new eating habit has brought quite the opposite pattern, making kids obese more.
As per the report, 20% (one in five) of children between 5–19 years were overweight in 2022, while only 10% or one in 10 were underweight. It is for the first time in the world that more children are overweight than underweight, according to the UN.
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Strikingly, the obesity rate has drastically transformed. While 9.2% of five-to-19-year-olds worldwide are underweight, 9.4% are considered obese, the report found. In 2000, nearly 13% were underweight and just 3% were obese.
The report pointed out that ultra-processed junk is the major reason for increasing children being overweight, as there are around 188 million teenagers and school-age children with obesity, which suggests a disturbing trend of one in ten. The situation is feared to bring about the risk of a challenging future with potential life-threatening diseases.
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According to Catherine Russell, executive director of the UN agency for children, it is not underweight that we no longer refer to as malnutrition. He notes obesity is a growing concern, adding that ultra-processed food is increasingly replacing fruits, vegetables and protein, affecting cognitive development and mental health.
