It is the UN children's fund Unicef that alerts about the development. The report is based on data from 190 countries and it shows a clear global development - the proportion of children and young people who weigh unhealthily much is increasing sharply.
Traditional diets with whole grains, fruits and vegetables have been replaced by snacks with a lot of salt, sugar and fat that are cheap and easily accessible, says Harriet Torlesse, researcher and the report's main author.
Pacific countries affected
According to Unicef, the proportion of children between 5 and 19 years old who suffer from underweight has decreased from 13 to 9.2 percent since 2000. But the positive news is clouded by the fact that obesity in the age group has increased from 3 to 9.4 percent. Above all, the increase has occurred in low- and middle-income countries.
In the report, the island nation of Niue in the Pacific is mentioned, where almost 40 percent of all children and young people have obesity. In the USA and the United Arab Emirates, it is 21 percent of all in the age group who have obesity, and in Chile 27 percent.
According to the report authors, the increase is mainly due to changed eating habits where fast food has become much more common.
This is not about individual choices or individual lifestyles, it is a much bigger issue. If we are to slow down the development, laws and rules are required that protect children and young people, says Harriet Torlesse.
Great risks
Unicef points out the massive marketing and availability of unhealthy foods as the explanation. They demand that countries' governments take measures such as taxes on certain foods and bans on the sale of junk food and sweets in schools and regulate marketing aimed at children and young people.
Obesity in children and young people increases the risk of a number of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain forms of cancer. It is also linked to an increased risk of mental illness.
Children and young people are classified as overweight when they weigh significantly more than what is considered healthy for their age, sex and height. Every fifth child and teenager is considered overweight globally, according to the report.
Overweight is counted as those who have a body mass index (BMI) over one standard deviation more than the median value according to WHO's references.
Obesity is classified as BMI more than 2 standard deviations above the median value.
Underweight is classified as more than 2 standard deviations below the median value.
Source: Unicef
