More children are obese than underweight, Unicef warns

For the first time, there are more children around the world who are obese than sub-ponderation, according to a major study by the charitable organization of UNICEF children.

About one in 10 of the people aged five to 19 – around 188 million children and young people – are now affected by obesity.

Researchers blame a passage from traditional regimes to those strongly dependent on ultra-transformed foods which are relatively cheap and rich in calories.

UNICEF, a United Nations agency, urges governments to protect children’s food from unhealthy ingredients and prevent the ultra-transformed food industry from introducing political decisions.

When health experts referred to children with malnutrition, this was often read like those who were in weight insufficiency.

More – this term now also refers to the impact of obesity on health and development of children. Even in poor countries, it is now a real concern.

Children are considered overweight when they are much heavier than a healthy weight for their age, sex and size.

Obesity is a serious form of being overweight and is linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, later.

Throughout childhood, good nutrition, including a lot of fruits, vegetables and protein, plays a vital role in growth, cognitive development and mental health.

But many traditional regimes are moved by ultra-transformed foods, often rich in sugar, starch, salt, unhealthy and additive fats.

UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said the challenges posed by obesity should not be underestimated. She said it was “an increasing concern” that can affect the health and development of children.

Undernutrition – which can manifest itself as a waste and growth retardation – remains a significant problem in less than five countries with low and intermediate.

But the latest UNICEF data – a study based on data from more than 190 countries – finds that the prevalence of children in weight insufficiency aged 5 to 19 has decreased for 2000, by almost 13% to 9.2%.

However, obesity rates increased from 3% to 9.4%, which means that almost one in 10 children is now obese.

The number of overweight children – who includes those who are obese – have also increased insofar as 1 in five school children and adolescents are overweight.

This represents around 391 million children around the world, estimates the study.

Obesity now exceeds weight insufficiency in all regions of the world, with the exception of sub -Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The highest obesity rates in children and young people are in some of the Pacific Island States, notably Niue (38%), the Cook (37%) and Nauru (33%) islands.

But many high -income countries are also faced with a serious obesity problem. Among the 5 to 19 year olds, 27% are obese in Chile, 21% in the United States and 21% in the United Arab Emirates.

Catherine Russell of UNICEF says: “In many countries, we see the double burden of malnutrition – the existence of growth delay and obesity.

“This requires targeted interventions.

“Nutrient and affordable foods must be available for each child to support their growth and development.

“We need the urgency of policies that support parents and guards to access nutritious and healthy foods for their children.”

UNICEF warns that the impacts on health and economic costs to do nothing is potentially enormous.

The report estimates that in 2035, the global economic impact of overweight and obesity should exceed 4 billions of US dollars (2.95 sterling books) per year.

He urges governments to act, including the labeling and marketing of food.

This could include legal measures to protect children’s diet by removing ultra -transformed food from school canteens, introducing taxes on foods and unhealthy drinks and encouraging food producers to make changes to products – known as reformulation – to limit unhealthy ingredients and harmful substitutes.

The report also provides that the development of policies is protected against interference by the ultra-greed food industry.

Producers of ultra-adjustment food and drinks could be prohibited from participation in the development and implementation of the policy and any political lobbying of the industry should be officially reported.