For the first time, more kids are obese than underweight

A student walks past a snack vending machine at Bowie High School in Austin, Texas. | Jana Birchum/Getty Images Something striking just happened in global nutrition: As of 2025, children worldwide are now more likely to be obese than underweight. According to UNICEF’s new Child Nutrition Report, about 9.4 percent of school-age kids (ages 5–19) are living with obesity, compared to 9.2 percent who are underweight. Twenty-five years ago, the gap was much wider: Nearly 13 percent of kids were underweight, while just 3 percent had obesity. Over time, those lines have converged and flipped.