India, May 17 -- Childhood and adolescent obesity is slowing, stabilising or slightly declining in many high-income countries, according to a new study published in Nature.

The study analysed obesity trends from 1980 to 2024, using data from 4,050 population-based studies covering 232 million people across 200 countries and territories.

Researchers found that obesity among young people continues to rise rapidly in many low- and middle-income countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Islands.

By 2024, obesity growth rates were at their highest levels since 1980 in 110 countries for girls and 91 countries for boys, most of them in developing regions.

Scientists say rapid urbanisation, changing diets, ultra-processed f...