"Childhood Obesity Surpasses Underweight Worldwide: Causes, Risks & Solutions"
In a striking shift in global health trends, obesity among school-age children and adolescents (ages 5-19) has for the first time surpassed underweight; this overturns decades in which malnutrition was chiefly understood to mean a lack of food. According to a new UNICEF report titled Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children, about 9.4% of children aged 5-19 are now obese, compared with 9.2% who are underweight. This change has enormous implications: obesity is not just a matter of aesthetics, but a health risk with downstream consequences affecting metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, psychological health, and even national healthcare costs. In this article, we explore what led to this tipping point, where the crisis is worst, what risks are involved, and what solutions are being proposed or already implemented. We also look into subtle facets of this shift (the “double burden” of malnutrition, social determinants, food environments) and suggest what stakehold...