Child Nutrition Global Report 2025, Key Findings and Recommendations

Context: Child Nutrition Report 2025 released by UNICEF.

Key Findings of the Child Nutrition Global Report 2025

Rising childhood obesity

• 5% of children under 5 years are overweight.
• 20% of children and adolescents (5–19 years) are overweight, double the rate since 2000.

Obesity vs. undernutrition (2025)

• Obesity prevalence: 4%.
• Underweight prevalence: 2% among school-age children and adolescents.

Regional hotspots

• Over 50% of affected children live in East Asia & Pacific, Latin America & Caribbean, and South Asia.
• In South Asia, overweight prevalence in ages 5–19 has increased fivefold since 2000.

Key Drivers of the Trend

• Cheap ultra-processed foods (UPFs): Subsidies for ingredients like corn, soy, wheat make UPFs cheaper than fresh food.
  • Long shelf-life → wider availability, especially for low-income families.
• Aggressive marketing: Digital and influencer-driven advertising blurs lines between content and ads.
  • Weak regulations allow children-targeted marketing.
• Policy gaps: Only 7% of countries mandate front-of-pack nutrition labels.
  • Just 8% offer subsidies to promote healthy foods.

Key Recommendations

• Support breastfeeding: Enforce the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, including digital restrictions.
• Healthier food environments: Restrict the availability and marketing of junk food.
  • Introduce taxes on unhealthy products and mandatory front-of-pack labelling.
• Promote nutritious foods: Redirect subsidies to healthy foods.
  • Strengthen local food systems to improve access.
• Social protection & awareness: Expand schemes for low-income families to access nutritious diets.
  • Run behaviour change campaigns to boost demand for healthy food.

Sharing is caring!