The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported that child obesity has tripled in 20 years in Sri Lanka.
In its latest global report titled “Feeding Profit: How food environments are failing children”, UNICEF places Sri Lanka among a group of countries experiencing the most rapid increases in child overweight.
“Sri Lanka is among the group of countries where overweight has at least tripled in the last two decades,” the report states, calling for urgent reforms to ensure children grow up in food environments that support health rather than harm it.
The report highlights a troubling global trend, noting that one in twenty children under the age of five (5%) and one in five children and adolescents aged 5–19 (20%) are now living with overweight.
UNICEF says aggressive marketing of ultra-processed foods, poor access to affordable healthy meals, and weak regulations have contributed to the crisis, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
The Fund is urging governments to adopt stronger policies to regulate harmful food marketing, improve school meal standards, and empower families to make healthier food choices.
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