UNICEF Calls For Junk Food Ban Near Schools — Here’s Why

COLOMBO (News 1st); Children across South Asia are facing a growing nutrition crisis, with millions affected by undernourishment, anaemia, and obesity, according to UNICEF.

In its latest report titled Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children, UNICEF warns that without urgent action, the futures of millions of children are at risk.

The report reveals that the number of children aged 5–19 living with overweight has increased fivefold to 70 million in South Asia since 2000. 

Every country in the region is affected, with childhood obesity more than doubling during the same period, while undernutrition and anaemia remain alarmingly high.

South Asia continues to bear the world’s largest burden of undernutrition:

1 in 3 children under five are stunted.
1 in 10 suffer from wasting.
1 in 4 are born with low birth weight.

The region also has the highest global prevalence of anaemia, affecting nearly half of all women and adolescent girls.

The report highlights that children are growing up in food environments that fail to meet their nutritional needs. 

A 2023 UNICEF survey of over 7,500 adolescents across five South Asian countries found that while some schools offer freshly prepared meals, unhealthy options like packaged snacks, sugary drinks, and fast food are widely available.

Nearly half of the adolescents reported seeing food brand logos at school, and more than half said advertising influenced their food choices. These products, with long shelf lives and wide distribution networks, have reached even the most remote areas.

UNICEF is calling on governments to:

Ensure access to nutritious, affordable food for all families.
Ban the marketing and promotion of unhealthy foods within a 5-kilometre radius of schools.

Despite the challenges, South Asia has a strong track record of tackling undernutrition and anaemia through national programmes, which can serve as a foundation for addressing this triple threat.