Mar 05, 2026
3 min read
Childhood obesity is on the rise in over 180 countries and affects one in five children worldwide.According to the World Obesity Atlas 2026, between 2025 and 2027
Childhood obesity is on the rise in more than 180 countries, affecting one in five children worldwide.According to the World Obesity Atlas 2026;Between 2025 and 2027, there could be a symbolic change in the global map of malnutrition: more children will be overweight than their weight.If this trend continues, by 2040, 225 million students will be living with this disease and at least 120 million will develop the first symptoms of chronic diseases related to being overweight.
Despite what has happened, the public eye continues to focus on individual responsibility.This approach has shaped public response for years, according to Magdalena Wetzel, head of Policy and Advocacy at the World Obesity Federation.
"The obesity conversation is always about blaming the individual," she explains.The result, he argues, is a persistent stigma that makes it difficult to understand the structural dimension of the problem."It is not based on human will.It is a chronic and multifactorial disease linked to social inequality, access to health care and the environment we live in."
Growth that changes geography
Atlas 2026 shows that in some high-income countries, rates have begun to stabilize, but growth is accelerating in advanced economies.In countries like China or India, Wetzel shows, there is a progressive shift from traditional foods to highly industrialized products, provided by large multinational companies with competitive prices and a strong commercial presence.
"In the companies that are more economic, this change, this growth has been going on for decades, but now we are seeing it in emerging countries," he said.
Added to this is the intensity of marketing aimed at children, especially in the digital environment."In all countries, regardless of income level, we see higher rates at lower socioeconomic levels," he emphasizes.
Spain: partial progress and big figures
Spain is among the countries that have succeeded in reducing the number of adolescent boys in recent years.However, the numbers are still high.According to the latest estimates available from Atlas, by 2025, 735,000 minors between the ages of 5 and 9 will live with overweight or obesity in Spain, a number that would exceed 1.3 million if the category were extended to 10-19 years.
The impact on health is already palpable.In the following years, 154 thousand minors could have hypertension attributed to BMI, 71 thousand hyperglycemia, 225 thousand high triglycerides and 433 thousand liver diseases associated with metabolic dysfunction.
Although forecasts suggest a slight decline towards 2040, Wetzel believes it is too early to talk about a consolidated turnaround.The latest data is before the pandemic, and developments in the food and pharmaceutical markets could change the scenario.
The discourse around obesity has always focused on placing blame on the individual.
Spain has a National Strategic Plan to reduce childhood obesity (2022-2030) and other policies related to school feeding or advertising regulations.However, the expert warned that developing strategies is not enough.
"Obesity, being a condition, a chronic disease and many types, means that there are many policies that we need to address: not only the school and obesogenic environment, prices or industrial advertising, but also urban planning, efficient transport, the promotion of physical activity and even health care," he says.
In addition, he emphasizes that the most common mistake is to think that one measure is enough for a good plan."The implementation should be on the other side of the coin and have the same weight as the plan. If the necessary resources are not allocated to each area or municipality, the plan is useless. In addition, as policies are managed, they must be followed and understood from the experience of obese people: how the health system has experience and the treatment they receive. obese or not."
Primary care and early prevention
For the World Obesity Federation, prevention can only be activated when complications occur."You don't have to wait for a child to have type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure," says Wetzel.The approach, he maintains, must start in primary health care and be maintained throughout life, where obesity is integrated as another chronic disease in the health system.
Ultimately, he insists, the debate must shift from the individual to the environment.Because, he concludes, "the system is set up so that healthy choices are the hardest."
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