At least 41 million children across the globe who are under the age of 5 are obese or overweight, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), an increase of 10 million over the past quarter century.
The public health arm of the United Nations released the latest figures on Monday in a report meant to help governments reverse the rising trend of obesity in children. The number of overweight or obese children in developing countries has more than doubled from 7.5 million to 15.5 million since 1990, the WHO said. Nearly half of all obese children lived in Asia in 2014, according to the organization.
“Overweight and obesity impact on a child’s quality of life, as they face a wide range of barriers, including physical, psychological and health consequences,” Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity co-chair Sania Nishtar said in a statement. “We know that obesity can impact on educational attainment too and this, combined with the likelihood that they will remain obese into adulthood, poses major health and economic consequences for them, their families and society as a whole.”
- Succession Was a Race to the Bottom, And Everybody Won
- What Erdoğan’s Victory Means for Turkey—and the World
- Why You Can't Remember That Taylor Swift Concert All Too Well
- How Four Trans Teens Threw the Prom of Their Dreams
- Why Turkey’s Longtime Leader Is an Electoral Powerhouse
- The Ancient Roots of Psychotherapy
- Drought Crisis Spurs U.S.-Mexico Collaboration
- Florence Pugh Might Just Save the Movie Star From Extinction