Health
For the first time, there are more children in the world who are obese than underweight
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For the first time in history, more children are obese than underweight, a shift UNICEF says is putting millions of kids at risk of life-threatening disease.
The UN agency’s analysis, which covered data from more than 190 countries between 2000 and 2022 and projections since, found that one in 10 school-aged kids — about 188 million worldwide — is obese under World Health Organization (WHO) standards.
Meanwhile, one in five children under 19 years old globally – or 391 million – is overweight. Kids are considered overweight if they carry excess weight for their age, sex and height, while obesity is a more severe form that greatly increases the risk of serious health problems later in life.
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Between 2000 and 2022, global obesity rates among those aged five to 19 more than tripled, jumping from 3% to 9.4%. During the same period, the prevalence of underweight children fell from nearly 13% to 9.2%.
One in 10 children globally is living with obesity, putting them at risk of life-threatening diseases. (iStock)
“When we talk about malnutrition, we are no longer just talking about underweight children,” UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said in a press release.
“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,” she warned.
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While undernutrition is still a significant problem, obesity is now more common almost everywhere except South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
The report highlights obesity hotspots and found that levels have doubled since the 2000s, especially in low- and middle-income countries, even as they still struggle with undernutrition. In small Pacific Island nations like Niue and the Cook Islands, nearly 40% of young people are obese.
Children still face malnutrition in the form of being both underweight and overweight, according to UNICEF. (iStock)
Meanwhile, in wealthier countries, where ultra-processed foods make up more than half of adolescents’ calories, high levels of obesity persist. Twenty-seven percent of five-to-19-year-olds in Chile are living with obesity, while rates in the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates stand at 21%.
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In wealthier nations such as the U.S., doctors are increasingly backing the use of new weight-loss drugs in teenagers as a tool to combat the crisis.
“Obesity is not a failure of parents or children. It’s the result of toxic food environments,” author, professor and UNICEF backer Chris Van Tulleken told Reuters.
Obesity leads to a higher risk of developing insulin resistance and high blood pressure, as well as life-threatening diseases later in life, including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, according to the report.
Obesity has now surpassed underweight as the most common form of malnutrition among young kids, UNICEF warns. (iStock)
In addition to ultra-processed foods, especially those high in salt, sugar and fat, experts blame the aggressive marketing of junk food.
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A survey of 64,000 young people conducted by the agency in 170 countries revealed that 75% had seen ads for sugary drinks, snacks or fast food in the prior week. Even in conflict zones, 68% reported being exposed to this kind of advertising. Sixty-five percent of respondents in low-income countries were exposed to them, too, including at school, on social media, at sporting events and in cartoons.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. this week unveiled the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) report on childhood health, which warns that ultra-processed foods, sedentary behavior and a host of environmental and dietary factors are fueling rising obesity and chronic disease in American children.
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It said the administration would explore the development of potential industry guidelines to limit direct advertising of unhealthy foods to children.
UNICEF is urging governments to take swift action on unhealthy food environments. (iStock)
UNICEF is urging governments worldwide to urgently impose restrictions on junk food marketing and ban unhealthy products in schools.
In Mexico, where childhood and adolescent obesity is common and sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods account for 40% of kids’ daily calories, the government recently banned the sale and distribution of ultra-processed foods and items high in salt, sugar and fat in public schools, UNICEF noted.
The agency warned that without swift action, the trend threatens to fuel a surge in diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems among the next generation.
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The Trump administration is taking another look at ending biannual clock changes, with an eye toward making daylight saving time (DST), or the “summer clock,” permanent.
On May 21, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent in a 48-1 vote, part of a largely bipartisan push to end twice-yearly clock changes.
Although gaining extra winter evening daylight might seem like a win, health experts say permanent daylight saving time could disrupt people’s natural circadian rhythms.
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In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Wendy Troxel, a licensed clinical psychologist and senior behavioral scientist at RAND based in Utah, said science is being “misconstrued” in this decision.
“Ending the biannual clock change is something most sleep scientists and the public would welcome,” she said. “The disruption of springing forward every March is associated with real, measurable harm — spikes in car crashes, heart attacks and sleep deprivation.”
The Trump administration is taking another look at ending semiannual clock changes, with an eye toward making daylight saving time, or the “summer clock,” permanent. (iStock)
However, Troxel noted, implementing permanent daylight saving time is “not supported by science.” Instead, evidence “strongly supports” permanent standard time, or the “winter clock,” according to the expert.
Major sleep medicine organizations, including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have previously supported adopting permanent standard time over permanent daylight saving time.
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“Standard time is more closely aligned with human circadian biology, meaning the relationship between light, darkness and our internal clocks remains intact,” Troxel said.
“Permanent DST simply shifts an hour of morning sunlight to the evening, and there are significant health and safety costs of that trade.”
“Standard time is more closely aligned with human circadian biology,” the expert said. (iStock)
The U.S. attempted permanent DST in the early 1970s, but the plan was aborted in part due to these “morning consequences,” according to the sleep expert.
“Within a year, the law was repealed amid public displeasure with commuting to work and school in the dark and increases in morning car crashes, and with no demonstrable impact on energy savings,” Troxel told Fox News Digital.
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Human circadian rhythms are primarily “anchored” by morning light, Troxel said. Under permanent DST, most people waking up for work or school would be rising before the sun, which forces a “chronic misalignment between the body’s internal clock and the external world.”
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“You cannot override that biology by simply shifting external clocks forward,” the expert said. “What you get instead is a population that is effectively waking up in the middle of their biological night, every single day.”
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The public has typically supported having more daylight in winter evenings, which could alleviate mental health conditions such as seasonal depression.
Supporters of permanent daylight saving time argue that later evening daylight could encourage outdoor activity, recreation and consumer spending after work or school.
Morning light is “crucial to regulate sleep, [boost] alertness and support mental health,” according to a sleep expert. (iStock)
Troxel agreed that light is a “powerful regulator” for sleep and moods, but noted that not all types have the same benefits.
“Morning light is crucial to regulate sleep, alertness and support mental health, and this would be sacrificed with permanent daylight saving time,” she noted.
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In some areas of the country, like Utah, Americans wouldn’t see the sunrise until about 9 a.m. in the winter, which some research has linked to higher rates of depression and seasonal mood challenges.
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“More evening light may feel enjoyable, in part because we equate it with lovely summer evenings, but permanent daylight saving time does not mean permanent summer,” Troxel emphasized. “It just means we will get less morning sunlight and more evening sunlight.”
“Exposure to light in the evening further pushes circadian rhythms later, making it more difficult to fall asleep and harder to wake up in the morning.”
Risks for vulnerable groups
Permanent daylight saving time can intensify people’s habit of “bedtime procrastination,” deepen sleep deprivation and contribute to the widespread public health issue of insufficient sleep already identified by the Institute of Medicine, according to Troxel.
Teens are most at risk of mental health complications if permanent DST extends darkness in the morning. (iStock)
Various studies have shown that people typically sleep less in summer compared to winter. Troxel said this is particularly concerning in a society where one in three people are already getting insufficient shuteye.
“This is especially alarming for teenagers, a population the U.S. surgeon general has identified as being in a mental health crisis,” she cautioned.
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For example, a teen waking up at 6:30 a.m. for an 8 a.m. school start time under permanent DST would be rising biologically at 5:30 a.m., Troxel noted, which is “in the middle of their biological night.”
“Framing permanent DST as a fix for seasonal depression gets the science exactly backwards,” she added.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
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People who quit smoking may reduce their risk of developing dementia later in life, according to new research.
A team of researchers at a university in China analyzed data from more than 32,000 adults over a 25-year period and found that former smokers had a lower risk of dementia compared to people who continued smoking.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology.
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During the study period, researchers documented 5,868 cases of dementia.
Participants who quit smoking during the study had a significantly lower risk of developing dementia than current smokers. Their risk was similar to people who had quit smoking before the study began and those who had never smoked.
New research suggests that quitting smoking may lower the chance of developing dementia later in life. (iStock)
The researchers also found that dementia risk continued to decline the longer a person remained smoke-free, approaching that of never-smokers after about seven years.
The benefits appeared strongest among people who gained little or no weight after quitting.
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“Our findings suggest that quitting smoking may support long-term brain health, but they also highlight that what happens after quitting matters,” lead researcher Hui Chen said in a statement.
The reduction in dementia risk was most pronounced among people who experienced little or no weight gain after they stopped smoking. (iStock)
Zaid Fadul, a Harvard-trained physician and chief medical officer of Bespoke Concierge MD who was not involved in the research, said the findings add to growing evidence that quitting smoking can help protect long-term brain health.
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“The key takeaway is that the brain appears to benefit from smoking cessation at virtually any stage,” Fadul told Fox News Digital.
“Smoking contributes to chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and damage to blood vessels that supply the brain, all of which are associated with cognitive decline and dementia risk.”
Fadul said the findings should encourage smokers who may feel it is too late to quit.
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“Importantly, it is rarely ‘too late’ to quit,” he said.
“While earlier cessation offers the greatest benefit, the body and brain begin recovering soon after smoking stops.”
Experts say it is almost never too late to quit smoking, as the body and brain start to recover soon after a person stops, although quitting earlier provides the greatest health benefits. (iStock)
Improvements in circulation, reduced inflammation and better cardiovascular health can help preserve cognitive function later in life, according to Fadul.
“Every year without tobacco is a step toward lowering future dementia risk and improving overall health,” he said.
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While the findings were encouraging, the study does have limitations.
Researchers identified an association between quitting smoking and a lower risk of dementia, but the study was not designed to prove that ending smoking directly prevents the condition.
Other health, lifestyle and environmental factors may have also influenced participants’ outcomes.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for further comment.
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