World Obesity Federation says half a billion children will be overweight and calls on governments to act to create healthier environments
Without drastic action more than 220 million children could have obesity by 2040, an international report has warned.
Globally, in 2025 about 180 million children were obese. But new figures from the World Obesity Federation suggest that by 2040, about 227 million of all 5- to 19-year-olds will have obesity and more than half a billion will be overweight.
According to the federation’s 2026 world obesity atlas, that would mean that at least 120 million school-age children would have early signs of chronic disease caused by their high body mass index (BMI).
Someone is classed as obese if their BMI is 30 or above, and overweight if it is above 25.
