New Delhi, March 4 The World Obesity Federation, a global organization exclusively focused on obesity and a key partner to international agencies, including the World Health Organization, has warned that most countries, including India, are falling short of achieving the 2030 global target of halting the rise in childhood obesity.
The target was set for 2025, which was extended to 2030 after most countries failed to achieve it.
Estimates by the World Obesity Federation (WOF) suggest that by 2040, 20 million children in India will be living with obesity, and 56 million will be living with overweight and obesity.
At least 120 million school-age children across the globe are expected to have early signs of chronic diseases such as hypertension and cardiovascular ailments due to overweight and obesity by 2040, it said.
According to the World Obesity Atlas 2026, released by the WOF on World Obesity Day on Wednesday, 14.921 million children aged 5-9 years and more than 26.402 million children aged 10-19 in India were overweight or obese in 2025.
The top 10 countries alone account for over 200 million school-age children – 5-19 years – with high body mass index (BMI).
By the end of 2025, eight countries were projected to have more than 10 million children with high BMI, while China, India, and the United States each had more than 10 million children living with obesity, the Atlas stated.
China leads both categories, with 62 million children with high BMI and 33 million with only obesity, followed by India (41 million high BMI; 14 million obesity) and the US (27 million high BMI; 13 million obesity).
In India, from 2025 to 2040, children aged 5-19 years with disease indicators attributed to high BMI is projected to rise substantially, including BMI-attributed hypertension increasing from 2.99 million to 4.21 million; hyperglycaemia from 1.39 million to 1.91 million; high triglycerides from 4.39 million to 6.07 million; and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), from 8.39 million to 11.88 million.
According to the Atlas, 74 per cent of adolescents aged 11-17 years fail to meet the recommended physical activity levels; only 35.5 per cent of school-age children (primary and secondary) receive school meals; and 32.6 per cent of infants aged 1-5 months experience sub-optimal breastfeeding.
The report also highlighted that 13.4 per cent of women aged 15-49 years are exposed to high BMI; 4.2 per cent of women aged 15-49 years live with Type 2 diabetes; and children aged 6-10 years consume an average of 0-50 ml of sugary drinks per day.
The Atlas found that more than one in five (20.7 per cent) 5-19-year-olds worldwide are living with obesity and overweight – an increase from 14.6 per cent in 2010.
The WOF predicts that by 2040, a total of 507 million children worldwide will be living with obesity or be overweight.
Childhood obesity and overweight lead to similar conditions as seen in adults, including hypertension and cardiovascular disease, the WOF said.
It is estimated that by 2040, more than 57 million children will show early signs of cardiovascular disease (high triglycerides), while over 43 million will show signs of hypertension.
WOF Chief Executive Johanna Ralston said, “The increase in childhood obesity worldwide shows we have failed to take seriously a disease that affects one in five children.
“Governments urgently need to step up prevention and management efforts for children living with overweight and obesity, and ensure that they receive the care they need.”
“We need to implement policies to create healthy environments, whether children are at home, school or out and about: We know that taxes on sugar-sweetened drinks and limits on advertising unhealthy food to children work, alongside greater access to physical activity and monitoring that starts in primary care.
“There is no reason to hesitate in bringing these about. It is not right to condemn a generation to obesity and the chronic and potentially fatal non-communicable diseases that often go with it,” Ralston said.