Sri Lanka has experienced one of the most rapid increases in childhood overweight and obesity in the last two decades, according to a new global report from UNICEF.
The report, "Feeding Profit: How food environments are failing children," identifies Sri Lanka as one of nine countries where the prevalence of overweight among children and adolescents aged 5–19 has at least tripled between 2000 and 2022.
This alarming trend is part of a worldwide surge in childhood obesity driven by what UNICEF calls "failing food environments," where unhealthy, ultra-processed foods are cheap, widely available, and aggressively marketed to children.
The report highlights that in South Asia regions that had the lowest prevalence of overweight in 2000—the rate has increased almost fivefold by 2022.
Sri Lanka’s situation mirrors this regional crisis, underscoring a dramatic shift in children's nutrition and health.
A 2023 UNICEF poll of adolescents in eight South Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, revealed the extent to which unhealthy food environments have infiltrated schools.
The poll found that in schools with canteens or tuck shops, unhealthy options are disturbingly common. More students in Sri Lanka, along with Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, reported the availability of packaged snacks, fast foods, and sugary drinks than fresh fruits and vegetables.
The findings also showed that food marketing is a powerful influence within Sri Lankan schools. Nearly half of all adolescents surveyed in the region reported seeing food brands and logos inside their schools, and over half said these advertisements influenced their food choices.
UNICEF's global report warns that such unhealthy diets increase the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, while also being linked to poor mental health in children.
The UNICEF is calling on governments to take "immediate and transformative action" by implementing comprehensive, mandatory policies to reshape food environments, including restrictions on marketing to children, front-of-pack warning labels, and taxes on unhealthy foods.
