NAIROBI, Kenya Sept 11 – Kenya is facing a growing public health crisis as it battles a triple burden of malnutrition among children: undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and an alarming rise in overnutrition – including overweight and obesity.
According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), 3% of children under five are overweight, with the highest rates recorded in Nyeri, Nyamira, Kisii, and Nairobi counties, each reporting prevalence rates of 6%.
The trend extends into adolescence, where stark gender disparities emerge. Thirteen percent of girls aged 15 to 19 are either overweight or obese, compared to just 2% of boys in the same age group, the KDHS report shows the outlook is even more concerning.
The World Obesity Atlas 2022 projects that by 2030, over one million Kenyan children aged 5 to 19 will be living with obesity—highlighting a rapidly escalating public health threat.
UNICEF Kenya Country Representative Shaheen Nilofer has called for an urgent and unified multisectoral response to address the crisis, emphasizing the need for stronger regulation of Kenya’s food environment.
The global report shows that Obesity surpassed underweight as the more prevalent form of malnutrition this year, affecting 1 in 10 – or 188 million – school-aged children and adolescents, and placing them at risk of life-threatening disease.
Obesity now exceeds underweight in all regions of the world, except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
