Childhood obesity has reached alarming levels including in developing countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned on Monday. According to figures released by the health agency’s Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity, the number of children under five who are overweight or obese reached 41 million in 2014, up from 31 million in 1990. If current trends continue the number of overweight or obese infants and young children will increase to 70 million by 2025. “Overweight and obesity impact on a child’s quality of life, as they face a wide range of barriers, including physical, psychological and health consequences,” said the Commission’s co-chair, Dr Sania Nishtar. “We know that obesity can impact on educational attainment too and this, combined with the likelihood that they will remain obese into adulthood, poses major health and economic consequences for them, their families and society as a whole,” Nishtar added. Childhood obesity is becoming an increasing problem in the developing world. The number of overweight children in lower middle-income countries has more than doubled between 1990 and 2014, from 7.5 million to 15.5 million. In 2014, 48% of all overweight and obese children aged under five lived in Asia, and 25% in Africa. According to the report, many children are growing up today in environments encouraging weight gain and obesity. Exposure to unhealthy environments is increasing in high-, middle- and low-income countries and across all socioeconomic groups. The experts identified the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages as a major factor in the increase in numbers of children being overweight and obese. “Increased political commitment is needed to tackle the global challenge of childhood overweight and obesity,” said co-chair Sir Peter Gluckman. The report proposes a set of recommendations aimed at reversing the rising trend. The authors call on governments to promote the intake of healthy foods and reduce the consumption of unhealthy foods and sugar-sweetened beverages by children and adolescents, for example by subsidising healthy foods and implementing fiscal policies, such as taxes to reduce the consumption of unhealthy foods. WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chan stressed that “the biggest harm comes from the marketing of sugar-rich non-alcoholic beverages and ultra-processed, energy-dense, and nutrient-poor foods, which are often the cheapest and most readily available, especially in poorer communities.” She sad that voluntary initiatives are not likely to be sufficient. “To be successful, efforts aimed at reducing the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages need support from regulatory and statutory approaches,” she said, underlining that the technical guidance issued by WHO as well as the formulation of public health policies must be “protected from influence by industries with a vested interest.” (ab)