ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Regional overview of food security and nutrition 2021: Statistics and trends

2.3 Overweight among children under five

Childhood overweight is rising globally, driven largely by insufficient physical activity and increased availability and consumption of highly processed foods that are often high in sugar, salt and fats. The Asia-Pacific region 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. The most striking change has been in South-eastern Asia where the prevalence of overweight children increased from 3.7 percent in 2000 to 7.5 percent in 2020. In total, 16.2 million children in the region are overweight. The overall percentage is lower than the global average of 5.7 percent.

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). All subregions have a higher prevalence in 2020 than in 2000, except Southern Asia which has seen a decline in rates of childhood overweight over the past 20 years. These patterns (outside Southern Asia) must be reversed to achieve the SDG target for 2030.