Young People's Weight: A Global Shift

The world is seeing a big change in how young people's weight is distributed. More school-aged kids and teens are obese than underweight now. This is a huge deal because it shows how food environments are getting worse. Experts looked at data from 2000 to 2022. They found that about 188 million kids are obese. That's 1 in 10 kids. This number has tripled since 2000. Meanwhile, the number of underweight kids has gone down. But it's still a big problem. Obesity is now more common than being underweight in most regions. The only places where this isn't true are sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In some Pacific Island countries, nearly 40% of kids are obese. In the United States and the United Arab Emirates, it's about 21%. Why is this happening? Experts say it's because of unhealthy food. Junk food is everywhere. It's full of sugar, salt, and fat. And ads for this stuff are all over the place. Even in countries with conflicts, young people see these ads. This is a big problem. Obesity can lead to serious health issues like diabetes and heart disease. But it's not the fault of parents or kids. It's because of the food environment. Experts say governments need to do something. They need to restrict marketing and ban junk food in schools. This is urgent. The health of young people is at stake.