One in two Australian children will be obese or overweight by 2050 unless ‘action taken now’

The study’s authors said regulatory interventions such as funding healthy meals in schools and banning junk food advertising aimed at kids were needed. Photograph: Jonny Weeks/The Guardian

One in two children in Australia will be obese or overweight by 2050, a new study predicts, unless decision makers correct “monumental societal failures”.

The research was part of a global study analysing the rates of overweight and obesity classifications amongst five to 24-years-olds from 1990 to 2021 and using that data to forecast rates up to 2050 if current trends were to continue.