Amid rising obesity, children’s exposure to ultra-processed foods increases

A recent UNICEF report, ‘Feeding Profit: How Food Environments Are Failing Children’, estimates that one in five children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years are ‘living with overweight’. It highlights that children and adolescents are increasingly being exposed to “unhealthy food environments” through advertisements and food service facilities, and even lack adequate legal protections against such environments.

The below chart shows the number (in million) of children and adolescents living with overweight by age group

Children between 5 and 9 years and 10 to 14 years make up the highest shares of children who are ‘living with overweight.’ The below chart shows the percentage of children and adolescents with overweight, by age group, golbally (in %)

The report explores how the retail environment shapes what foods children are exposed to. UNICEF found a rise in the density of ‘chain’ outlets, which include convenience stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets with more than 10 outlets. The below chart shows the trends of chain and non-chain outlets over time by income classifications of countries.

According to the report, chain outlets influence food access and diets by facilitating the widespread availability and promotion of unhealthy foods and beverages.

But children’s exposure to these foods does not stem from chain outlets alone. UNICEF’s U-Report poll in 2023, which explored both the availability and marketing of foods in secondary schools across eight South Asian countries, showed that unhealthy foods and beverages were more commonly available in schools than fresh fruits or vegetables. The below charts show types of foods and beverages available in South Asian in 2023 (in %).

The report emphasised that mandatory national legal measures and policies are vital to creating healthy food environments. Data show that only 18% of the 202 countries analysed had mandatory nutrition standards for school meals, and only 19% have national taxes for both unhealthy foods and sugar-sweetened beverages. The below chart shows the share of countries with mandatory measures to protect children from unhealthy food environments.