Mumbai, March 05, 2026: The World Obesity Federation has warned that the world is set to miss the global target to halt the rise in childhood obesity, with India ranking second globally for the number of children living with overweight and obesity.
According to the World Obesity Atlas 2026, released on World Obesity Day (March 4), 14.921 million children aged 5–9 years and over 26.402 million adolescents aged 10–19 years in India were living with overweight or obesity in 2025. India recorded an estimated 41 million school-age children (5–19 years) with high BMI, including 14 million living with obesity alone, second only to China.
The report projects that by 2040, around 20 million children in India will be living with obesity, and a total of 56 million will be living with overweight and obesity. It also estimates that at least 120 million school-age children globally could show early signs of chronic diseases such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease by 2040 due to high BMI.
In India, children aged 5–19 years with disease indicators linked to high BMI are expected to increase significantly between 2025 and 2040. BMI-attributed hypertension is projected to rise 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) from 8.39 million to 11.88 million.
The report highlights several risk factors in India, including 74% of adolescents aged 11–17 not meeting recommended physical activity levels, sub-optimal breastfeeding among 32.6% of infants aged 1–5 months, and limited access to school meals for children.
Globally, 20.7% of children aged 5–19 were living with overweight and obesity in 2025, up from 14.6% in 2010. The Federation projects that by 2040, 507 million children worldwide will be living with obesity or overweight.
World Obesity Federation 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."
She added, "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."
The Federation has called for measures including taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, restrictions on marketing unhealthy food to children, improved school food standards, protection of breastfeeding, and integration of obesity prevention and management into primary healthcare systems.
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