The Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO) presented its final report to the WHO director-general, culminating a two-year process to address the alarming levels of childhood obesity and overweight globally.

The ECHO report proposes a range of recommendations for governments aimed at reversing the rising trend of children aged under five years becoming overweight and obese. At least 41 million children in this age group are obese or overweight, with the greatest rise in the number of children being obese or overweight coming from low- and middle-income countries.

“Increased political commitment is needed to tackle the global challenge of childhood overweight and obesity,” Peter Gluckman, Commission co-chair, said. “WHO needs to work with governments to implement a wide range of measures that address the environmental causes of obesity and overweight, and help give children the healthy start to life they deserve.”

“Overweight and obesity impact on a child’s quality of life, as they face a wide range of barriers, including physical, psychological and health consequences,” fellow Commission co-chair, Sania Nishtar said.

“We know that obesity can impact on educational attainment too and this, combined with the likelihood that they will remain obese into adulthood, poses major health and economic consequences for them, their families and society as a whole.”

According to the report, many children are growing up today in environments encouraging weight gain and obesity. Driven by globalisation and urbanisation, exposure to unhealthy environments is increasing in high-, middle- and low-income countries and across all socioeconomic groups. The marketing of unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages was identified as a major factor in the increase in numbers of children being overweight and obese, particularly in the developing world.

Overweight prevalence among children aged under five years has risen between 1990 and 2014, from 4.8 per cent to 6.1 per cent, with numbers of affected children rising from 31 million to 41 million during that time. The number of overweight children in lower middle-income countries has more than doubled over that period, from 7.5 million to 15.5 million.

In 2014, almost half (48 per cent) of all overweight and obese children aged under five lived in Asia and one-quarter (25 per cent) in Africa. The number of overweight children aged under five in Africa has nearly doubled since 1990.

The ECHO Report has six main recommendations for governments. These include: promote intake of healthy foods; promote physical activity; preconception and pregnancy care; early childhood diet and physical activity; health, nutrition and physical activity for school-age children; and weight management.