Ultra-Processed Foods Are Fueling Childhood Obesity, UNICEF Warns

More school-age children are obese than underweight for the first time, according to the Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children report by UNICEF. And it all comes down to ultra-processed foods.

According to a summary statement, obesity is now the “more prevalent form of malnutrition,” affecting 1 in 10, or 188 million, school-aged children and adolescents, putting them at risk of “life-threatening disease.” It is especially harmful for kids in low- and middle-income countries.

To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed data from more than 190 countries. The positive side of the data showed that the prevalence of underweight children (ages five to 19) has decreased from nearly 13% to 9.2% since 2000. However, during the same timeframe, the rate of obesity has more than tripled from 3% to 9.4%. The report notes that the only regions where children are more underweight than overweight are in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. 

“When we talk about malnutrition, we are no longer just talking about underweight children,” Catherine Russell, the executive director of UNICEF, shared. “Obesity is a growing concern that can impact the health and development of children. Ultra-processed food is increasingly replacing fruits, vegetables, and protein at a time when nutrition plays a critical role in children’s growth, cognitive development, and mental health.”

The report found that countries in the Pacific Islands have the highest rates of childhood obesity, including the island country of Niue, where 38% of children aged five to 19 are obese, followed by the Cook Islands, where 37% of children are classified as obese. “These levels – which have all doubled since 2000 – are largely driven by a shift from traditional diets to cheap, energy-dense, imported foods,” the report added. 

High-income nations, however, are not immune. The report found that 27% of children in Chile are also considered obese, as are 21% of children in the United Arab Emirates and 21% of American children.

But again, it’s a widespread issue, with an estimated 391 million children worldwide who are either overweight or obese.

“The cost of inaction for children, adolescents, families, societies, and economies is immense,” the report stated. It noted that unhealthy foods can “increase the risk of overweight, obesity and other cardiometabolic conditions in children and adolescents, including high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose and abnormal blood lipid levels. These health problems can persist into adult life, increasing the risk of non-communicable diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers. Overweight and obesity are also associated with low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression among children and adolescents.” 

The report emphasizes the roles of fast foods and ultra-processed foods in children’s diets. However, the meaning of “ultra-processed” can vary. In this report, the authors define it as foods and beverages that are “industrially formulated” and “composed primarily of chemically modified substances extracted from foods, together with additives and preservatives to enhance taste, texture, appearance, and shelf-life. They contain few or no whole foods and are typically high in refined starches, sugar, salt, and fat, including trans-fat.” Examples include “commercially produced complementary foods, sweet and salty snacks, confectionery, breakfast cereals, processed meat products, ready-made meals and sugar-sweetened beverages.”

In the United States, there is currently no widely accepted single definition of ultra-processed. In June 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its efforts to establish a “federally recognized uniform definition” for ultra-processed foods, aiming to provide consumers more transparency in their food choices. 

“Ultra-processed foods are driving our chronic disease epidemic,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. shared at the time. “We must act boldly to eliminate the root causes of chronic illness and improve the health of our food supply. Defining ultra-processed foods with a clear, uniform standard will empower us even more to Make America Healthy Again.”

Several states are also attempting to limit or outright ban ultra-processed foods in public school meals, including California, which, in September, passed legislation to exclude ultra-processed foods from schools by 2035. 

Still, making these foods less appealing to kids and their parents may be more difficult than it seems. According to the report, marketing and advertising to children has reached an all-time high. In 2024, UNICEF’s U-Report surveyed 64,000 young people aged 13 to 24 from more than 170 countries. Of those surveyed, 75% said they had seen an advertisement for “sugary drinks, snacks, or fast foods” in the past week, and 60% said the ads “increased their desire to eat the foods.”

In 2024, the United Kingdom passed legislation to ban such ads from airing before 9 p.m. It was scheduled to take effect on October 1, but after significant lobbying from food companies, its implementation has been delayed until 2026, a change that health experts oppose.

“We can’t afford to put off children’s health or allow for the measures in the original proposals to be watered down,” William Roberts, the chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, shared with The Guardian. “A key part of preventing ill health is giving people access to healthier choices, and restricting the advertising of junk food to children and young people is core to this.”

Without interventions, the report noted, countries could face “lifetime health and economic impacts.” It estimates that the global economic impact of obesity will exceed $4 trillion annually by 2035.

However, UNICEF states there are many ways to turn the ship around. To achieve this, it called on governments, civil society, and partners to take the following six steps:

• Implement comprehensive mandatory policies to improve children’s food environments, including food labelling, food marketing restrictions, and food taxes and subsidies.
• Implement social and behavior change initiatives that empower families and communities to demand healthier food environments. 
• Ban the provision or sale of ultra-processed and junk foods in schools and prohibit food marketing and sponsorship in schools.
• Establish strong safeguards to protect public policy processes from interference by the ultra-processed food industry.
• Strengthen social protection programmes to address income poverty and improve financial access to nutritious diets for vulnerable families.

“In many countries, we are seeing the double burden of malnutrition — the existence of stunting and obesity. This requires targeted interventions,” Russell added. “Nutritious and affordable food must be available to every child to support their growth and development. We urgently need policies that support parents and caretakers to access nutritious and healthy foods for their children.”