More school-age children and adolescents are now obese than underweight, a new report from the United Nations’ children’s agency, UNICEF, has revealed, with 188 million young people affected.

Obesity now exceeds underweight in all regions of the world except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, researchers found, having studied data from more than 190 countries.

Obesity occurs when a person has excessive fat accumulation that presents a health risk, according to the World Health Organization . Children are deemed overweight when they are “significantly heavier than what is healthy for their age, sex and height,” UNICEF noted, adding that obesity is a severe form of overweight that leads to a higher risk of insulin resistance, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseas

See Full Page