Children & teens
Growing up in a heavier world
In 1980, 1.1% of 5–19-year-olds lived with obesity. In 2024 it was 8.2% — about 166 million young people.
8.2%
of 5–19-year-olds live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
19.8%
are overweight or have obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
9.6%
are too thin — “thinness” (2024)
Malnutrition goes both ways.
Source: WHO
166 million
young people with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
Boys and girls
World: 5–19-year-olds with obesity, 1980–2024
What this meansBoys: 1.2% → 9.4%. Girls: 1.0% → 6.9%.
- Boys
- Girls
Obesity = BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median. Shaded bands = 95% uncertainty.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Where children are most affected
Highest: ages 5–19 with obesity (2024)
What this meansNiue is highest at 38.6%.
- 1. Niue38.6%
- 2. Cook Islands36.2%
- 3. Tonga32.5%
- 4. Tokelau31.6%
- 5. Naoero30.5%
- 6. Palau28.6%
- 7. Chile28.3%
- 8. Tuvalu28.2%
- 9. American Samoa27.1%
- 10. Bahamas26.7%
- 11. French Polynesia25.6%
- 12. Samoa25.0%
- 13. Brunei24.5%
- 14. Antigua and Barbuda24.2%
- 15. Qatar23.5%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Under-5s who are overweight (latest survey)
What this meansHighest in the latest available data: Australia (22.0%, 2017).
- Australia (2017)22.0%
- Tunisia (2018)17.2%
- Albania (2017)16.4%
- Armenia (2016)13.7%
- Algeria (2019)12.8%
- Mongolia (2023)12.8%
- Morocco (2019)12.7%
- Argentina (2018)12.4%
- Paraguay (2016)12.4%
- South Africa (2017)11.8%
- Saudi Arabia (2020)11.6%
- Panama (2019)11.5%
- Uruguay (2018)11.4%
- North Macedonia (2019)11.2%
- Tonga (2019)11.2%
Weight-for-height more than 2 SD above the WHO standard. Surveys happen in different years in different countries; only data from 2015 onward is shown.
What experts say
160 million
children and teens aged 5–19 were living with obesity in 2022, up from 31 million in 1990.
35 million
children under the age of 5 were overweight in 2024.
Early risk
Overweight in childhood is linked to a greater risk, and earlier onset, of diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.