WHO Calls on Schools Worldwide to Promote Healthy Eating Habits Among Children.
Geneva:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries across the globe to strengthen healthy eating practices in schools, stressing that nutritious food environments are critical for children’s growth, learning and long-term well-being. The call comes with the release of a new global guideline outlining evidence-based policies and interventions to create healthier school food environments.
For the first time, WHO has recommended that countries adopt a whole-school approach to nutrition—ensuring that all food and beverages provided in schools, and those available within the wider school environment, are healthy and nutritious. The guideline highlights schools as a key setting to tackle the growing global challenge of malnutrition in all its forms.
According to WHO, childhood overweight and obesity are rising rapidly worldwide, while undernutrition continues to persist, creating a “double burden” of malnutrition. In 2025, around 1 in 10 school-aged children and adolescents—an estimated 188 million—were living with obesity globally, surpassing for the first time the number of children who are underweight.
“The food children eat at school, and the environments that shape what they eat, can have a profound impact on their learning, and lifelong consequences for their health and well-being,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Getting nutrition right at school is critical for preventing disease later in life and creating healthier adults.”
WHO emphasized that healthy dietary practices begin early in life. With children spending a significant part of their day at school, the setting plays a crucial role in shaping lifelong eating habits and reducing health and nutrition inequalities.
Currently, about 466 million children worldwide receive school meals. However, WHO noted that there is limited information available on the nutritional quality of the food being served, underlining the need for stronger standards and oversight.
In its new guideline, WHO recommends that schools improve food provision to encourage higher consumption of healthy foods and beverages. Key recommendations include setting standards or rules to increase the availability, purchase and consumption of nutritious options while limiting unhealthy foods, a measure classified as a strong recommendation. WHO also suggests implementing “nudging” interventions—such as changes in food placement, presentation or pricing—to encourage children to choose healthier options.
The organization cautioned that policies alone are insufficient without effective monitoring and enforcement. Data from the WHO Global Database on the Implementation of Food and Nutrition Action (GIFNA) shows that as of October 2025, 104 Member States had policies on healthy school food, with nearly three-quarters including mandatory nutrition criteria. However, only 48 countries had policies restricting the marketing of foods high in sugar, salt or unhealthy fats.
The guideline was developed by a diverse, multidisciplinary group of international experts through a rigorous, transparent and evidence-based process. It forms a key part of WHO’s broader efforts to promote healthy food environments, including initiatives such as the WHO Acceleration Plan to Stop Obesity and the Nutrition-Friendly Schools Initiative.
Designed to support action at both national and local levels, the guideline recognizes the vital role of subnational and city authorities in implementing school food initiatives. WHO said it will assist Member States in adapting and implementing the recommendations through technical support, knowledge-sharing and partnerships.
