Why the war on childhood obesity is failing

Obesity is one of the world’s most serious public-health crises. It increases the risks of developing diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers. Since 1990 global rates have doubled among adults and quadrupled among children. Today more than 1bn people, including 7% of girls and 9% of boys, are classified as obese (see chart). In 2019 it led to around 5m deaths, 20 times as many as malnutrition did. Obesity is no longer just a rich-world problem. Childhood rates are highest on the islands of the Pacific and the Caribbean, and rising fastest in developing countries such as Cambodia and Lesotho.