Obese surpass undernourished youths for first time, UN warns | International

UNITED NATIONS, United States, Sept 10, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Obesity has skyrocketed among children and adolescents bombarded by "unethical" marketing of junk food, outpacing undernourishment to become the leading form of malnutrition worldwide for the first time among those age five to 19, UNICEF warned Tuesday. In a dire report, the United Nations children's agency projected that nearly one in 10 individuals within that age group will be living with the chronic disease in 2025, fueled by easy availability of ultra-processed foods "even in countries still grappling with child undernutrition." Today "when we talk about malnutrition, we are no longer just talking about underweight children," UNICEF chief Catherine Russell said in a statement on the report's release. "Ultra-processed food is...