ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2022: Statistics and Trends

2.3 OVERWEIGHT AMONG CHILDREN UNDER 5

Childhood overweight is rising globally, primarily driven by insufficient physical activity and increased availability and consumption of highly processed foods that are often high in sugar, salt and fats. Asia and the Pacific is no exception to this global trend, with a regional increase in overweight children rising from 4.2 percent to 5 percent between 2000 and 2020 (Figure 6).

The most striking change has been in South-eastern Asia, where the prevalence of overweight children doubled from 3.7 percent in 2000 to 7.5 percent in 2020. This is reflected in the increase in eight of the ten countries of this subregion. The most affected subregion is Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand with 8 percent, followed by Eastern Asia (7.9 percent), South-eastern Asia (7.5 percent) and Southern Asia (2.5 percent). Eight out of nine countries in Oceania showed an increase for this indicator. The rise in Southern Asia, albeit slower than other subregions, is concerning as this region already has the highest figures for PoU, stunting and wasting of children under 5 years of age.