By 2040 there will be more children who are overweight than not for the first time in history, a new report has found.
Childhood obesity is rising worldwide and will reach 228 million by 2040, surpassing for the first time the number of underweight children, according to the latest World Obesity Atlas 2026.
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More than 180 countries are experiencing rising rates of childhood overweight and obesity, with the fastest growth occurring in low- and middle-income countries where most of the world’s children live, claims the report, which is published by the World Obesity Federation.
In 2025, there were 177 million children between the ages of five and 19 living with obesity worldwide, a number expected to reach 228 million in 2040 – the equivalent of a rise from 8.7 percent to 11.9 percent of the world’s children and adolescents.
“Without urgent action, rising obesity rates will place growing strain on health systems, communities, and future generations,” Simón Barquera and Johanna Ralston from the World Obesity Federation wrote in the report.
The authors noted that the speed at which these numbers are increasing makes this trend “particularly alarming”.
“Childhood obesity is rapidly becoming not only a major public health concern, but a social and economic development challenge with long-term consequences for health systems, productivity, and equity,” the report said.
For the first time, obesity rates have risen to the point that globally, the number of children between the ages of five and 19 with obesity will exceed those living underweight.
This breakthrough is expected to occur before 2027. “This reflects a major shift in global malnutrition trends and global action should shift accordingly,” the authors wrote.
Where are the highest obesity rates?
Policy change will also need to reflect the geographic shifts in obesity prevalence.
It is no longer the case that high-income countries have the highest rates, with numbers rising in upper-middle-income countries, and the highest prevalences will continue to be seen in the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean region, and the Western Pacific.
In Europe, 14 million children were living with obesity in 2025, a number expected to decline to 13 million in 2040.
Why is obesity rising?
The report noted that the risk of developing overweight in childhood is increased by multiple known factors, including the health and habits of mothers, early nutrition, and inadequate physical activity.
However, the authors added, many factors that contribute to childhood obesity are not properly measured and monitored consistently, which makes it difficult to track global progress.
Key factors include maternal overweight and obesity, diabetes, and smoking, as well as insufficient breastfeeding during the first months of life, the quality of school meals, and low physical activity.
“While many governments have begun implementing prevention strategies, progress is not keeping pace with the rise,” the report noted.
What are the consequences of childhood obesity?
Overweight and obesity during childhood not only increase the risk of chronic diseases later in life, but they also pose risks in the early years, when healthy development is critical.
Childhood obesity is a known predictor of obesity and other chronic diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, in adulthood.
However, signs of these chronic diseases can already appear during childhood. By 2040, at least 120 million school-age children are expected to have early signs of chronic disease caused by high Body Mass Index (BMI), according to the report.
Several indicators of early chronic disease can be linked to unhealthy weight, such as liver disorders, high triglycerides (a risk factor for cardiovascular disease), hyperglycaemia (a risk factor for diabetes), and hypertension (a risk factor for stroke).
Childhood and adolescent obesity also carry adverse psychosocial consequences, affecting school performance and quality of life, complicated by stigma, discrimination and bullying, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
What’s the way forward?
Prevention policies alone will not be sufficient, the report noted. The World Obesity Federation is calling for stronger health, food, school, and built-environment policies, alongside equitable access to care and nutritious food for all children.
The WHO member states have set Global Nutrition Targets to improve maternal, infant, and young child nutrition from 2025 to 2030.
Based on a 2012 baseline, the aim is to reduce overweight by five percent over the next five years, and to increase the proportion of infants exclusively breastfed during the first six months of life to 60 percent.
Other targets include reducing by 40 percent the number of children under five years of age who are stunted, and by 50 percent the prevalence of anaemia in women of reproductive age.
