Global nutrition targets 2030: childhood overweight brief

Overview

Children aged 0 to 5 years are classified as overweight if their weight-for-length/height or BMI-for-age falls over 2 standard deviations above the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards. Children under five years of age with overweight are at higher risk of developing obesity and other serious health problems later in life, ranging from diet-related noncommunicable diseases.

Based on recent prevalence data through 2024, the world is nearly on track to achieve the original 2025 target of no increase in the overweight rate among children under five years of age (compared to 2012 prevalence). To decrease childhood overweight, WHO Member States at the 78th World Health Assembly passed a resolution to reduce and maintain the prevalence of childhood overweight to below 5% by 2030. The purpose of this brief is to highlight the interventions and policies necessary to achieve the revised 5% target by 2030.