Child Nutrition Report 2025 | 24 Sep 2025

Source: TH

Why in News? 

A UNICEF report titled Feeding Profit: How Food Environments Are Failing Children reveals how unhealthy food environments are contributing to the worldwide surge in overweight and obesity in children and adolescents.

What are the Key Findings of Child Nutrition Report 2025?

• High Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity: One in five children and adolescents (5–19 years) are living with overweight.
  • Obesity is rising faster than overall overweight rates. In 2025, for the first time, global obesity prevalence among 5–19-year-olds (9.4%) surpassed underweight (9.2%).
  • Obesity poses greater health risks and is harder to reverse, making this trend particularly concerning.
• Unhealthy Food Environments: Children face increasing exposure to ultra-processed foods and sugary beverages. 
  • School food environments, instead of promoting health, are contributing to poor dietary habits.
    • UNICEF’s U-Report poll (2023) in eight South Asian countries found that unhealthy foods and drinks were more commonly available in schools than fruits or vegetables.
  • Children in poorer areas face greater exposure to unhealthy food displays (sugary cereals, snacks, sweetened drinks) than wealthier peers.
• Weak Legal Protections: Only 18% of 202 countries studied have mandatory nutrition standards for school meals. 
  • Only 19% of countries impose national taxes on unhealthy foods and sugar-sweetened beverages.
  • Most countries rely on voluntary or fragmented measures, leaving children vulnerable to unhealthy food systems.

What are the Trends in Childhood Nutrition and Obesity in India?

• Rising Overweight and Obesity in India:  Prevalence of overweight and obesity among Under-Five Children rose 127% (from 1.5% in National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 3, 2005-06 to 3.4% in NFHS 5, 2019-21).
  • Adolescent girls' overweight/obesity increased by 125% (from NFHS 3 to NFHS 5), while boys' increased by 288% during the same period.
• Future Burden: By 2030, India may have 27 million children and adolescents (5–19 years) with obesity, accounting for 11% of the global burden.
• Key Drivers of the Epidemic:
  • Dietary Shifts: Ultra-processed foods (UPF) and sugary beverages are replacing traditional diets rich in fruits and vegetables. 
    • UPFs consumption surged from USD 900 million (2006) to USD 37.9 billion (2019), growing at over 33% annually.
  • Marketing Influence: Aggressive and targeted marketing, especially digital ads, creates constant exposure and temptation for children and adolescents.
    • Growth in supermarkets, hypermarkets, and convenience stores has increased access to unhealthy foods. These outlets facilitate widespread availability and aggressive promotion of such foods.
  • Early Life Factors: Poor maternal nutrition, inadequate breastfeeding, and childhood dietary practices contribute.
  • Social Norms: Adolescent girls and women often eat least and last, exacerbating nutritional inequities.
  • Lifestyle Factors: Low physical activity, increased screen time, and high consumption of UPF.
• Health and Economic Implications:
  • Health Risks: Childhood obesity increases risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and certain cancers.
  • Economic Costs: In 2019, obesity cost India nearly USD 29 billion, or 1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By 2060, this could rise to 2.5% of GDP, without urgent action.
  • National Burden: Unhealthy diets contribute to 56% of India’s disease burden.

What are the Challenges in Ensuring Childhood Nutrition in India?

• Lack of Clear Definitions: FSSAI has yet to define HFSS or UPFs, making it difficult to regulate foods that should be restricted or flagged for high sugar, salt, and fat content.
• Ineffective Food Labeling Systems: The Indian Nutrition Rating (INR) system, where half a star represents the least healthy option and 5 stars signifies the healthiest.
  • However, it misleads consumers, as foods high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) still score 2–3 stars despite being unhealthy.
• Industry Lobbying and Influence: Food industry representatives dominated the stakeholder meetings, sidelining scientific input, leading to a system that favors industry interests over public health which further contributes to rising obesity rates.
  • The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ignored its own 2021 draft regulations recommending 'traffic light' color-coded and mandatory warning labels, instead opting for the star system due to industry lobbying.
• Weak Regulatory Framework for Advertising: India’s laws aimed at curbing misleading or surrogate advertising of HFSS/UPFs, are largely ineffective.
  • The Consumer Protection Act (2019) deems it “misleading” if a product hides important information, but FSSAI does not mandate nutritional disclosure in advertisements.
  • Despite recommendations from the National Multisectoral Action Plan (2017) to amend these laws and restrict HFSS food ads, no regulatory action has been taken.

What are the Key UNICEF Recommendations for Improving Child Nutrition?

• Protect Breastfeeding & Infant Feeding: Implement the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (aims to stop the aggressive and inappropriate marketing of breast-milk substitutes), restrict digital marketing, and end promotion of unhealthy infant foods.
• Mandatory Legal Measures: Enforce laws on school food standards, food marketing restrictions, clear labelling, taxes on unhealthy foods, and reformulation to cut harmful ingredients.
• Improve Access to Nutritious Foods: Redirect subsidies and incentives towards healthy foods, promote local production, fortify staples, and ensure safe drinking water in schools and communities.
• Safeguard Policymaking: Exclude ultra-processed food industry actors from policy processes, introduce conflict-of-interest safeguards, and mandate transparency on lobbying.
• Promote Behaviour Change: Empower families and communities with awareness campaigns, highlight the harms of ultra-processed diets, and build public support for strong laws.
• Strengthen Social Protection: Expand food, cash, and voucher transfers; support affordable childcare, parental benefits, and labour market programmes to ensure access to healthy diets.

Conclusion

The rapid rise in obesity from unhealthy foods is increasing non-communicable diseases among children. Urgent action like front-of-pack labelling, regulating junk food marketing, health taxes, and nutrition education is needed to protect child health. Governments, civil society, businesses, and communities must ensure every child’s right to good nutrition.