Chapter 2 Sustainable Development Target 2.2: Malnutrition
2.3 Overweight among children under 5 years of age
In 2022, the prevalence of overweight among children under 5 years of age in the Arab region was 9.5 percent, almost double the world average (5.6 percent) (Table 6). In addition, overweight among children under 5 years of age has increased by 8.0 percent since 2000. It is worth noting that high-income countries’ figures have risen significantly, from 3.9 percent in 2000 to 9.5 percent in 2022.
Among the country income groups, the highest prevalence of overweight among children under 5 years of age has consistently been in the lower-middle-income countries. In 2022, lower-middle-income countries had a prevalence of 14.2 percent. The prevalence has remained consistently low in the Arab States LDCs since 2002, which had a prevalence of 2.4 percent in 2022.
TABLE 6.
Prevalence of overweight among children under 5 years of age (percent)
2000
2005
2010
2012
2015
2020
2022
World
5.3
5.6
5.5
5.5
5.5
5.6
5.6
Arab States
8.8
10.5
10.3
10.0
9.6
9.4
9.5
Low-income countries
6.7
7.1
6.0
5.3
4.1
3.3
3.4
Lower-middle-income countries
11.3
13.7
13.5
13.2
13.0
13.7
14.2
Upper-middle-income countries
8.5
11.5
11.9
11.1
10.0
8.9
8.5
High-income countries
3.9
5.6
7.7
8.5
9.4
9.8
9.5
Arab States LDCs
4.2
4.0
2.8
2.5
2.3
2.3
2.4
Countries affected by conflict
7.3
8.5
7.7
7.0
5.9
4.9
4.8
Countries not affected by conflict
10.0
12.2
12.4
12.3
12.3
12.9
13.3
Notes: Definitions of country groupings are contained in Annex IV. Source: Based on UNICEF, WHO & World Bank. 2023. Levels and trends in child malnutrition.UNICEF / WHO / World Bank Group Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates – Key findings of the 2023 edition. New York, USA, UNICEF; Geneva, Switzerland, WHO and Washington, DC, World Bank. https://data.unicef.org/resources/jme-report-2023
FIGURE 12.
Prevalence of overweight among children under 5 years of age in the Arab States by country income group and country
Notes: Definitions of country groupings are contained in Annex IV. Source: Based on UNICEF, WHO & World Bank. 2023. Levels and trends in child malnutrition. UNICEF / WHO / World Bank Group Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates – Key findings of the 2023 edition. New York, USA, UNICEF; Geneva, Switzerland, WHO and Washington, DC, World Bank. https://data.unicef.org/resources/jme-report-2023 Download:https://doi.org/10.4060/cd3550en-fig12
The country with the highest prevalence of overweight among children under 5 years of age in 2022 was Libya, with a prevalence of 28.7 percent, almost 10 percentage points higher than the next two countries facing a high prevalence of child overweight, Tunisia (19 percent) and Egypt (18.8 percent) (Figure 12). The country with the lowest prevalence in 2022 was Yemen (1.7 percent). The country that was able to reduce its prevalence the most between 2012 and 2022 was the Syrian Arab Republic, which dropped by 4.9 percentage points from 16.6 percent to 11.7 percent. The country which saw its prevalence increase the most was Tunisia, which rose by 6.3 percentage points from 12.7 percent in 2012 to 19 percent in 2022.
