%20in%20Highest%20Nations.jpeg "FAO: Factor Affected Child overweight (Under 5) in Highest Nations")
Global Crisis: Top 7 Nations with Highest Child Overweight Prevalence (Under 5)
Data regarding child malnutrition highlights a shifting global health landscape. While malnutrition was historically associated with being underweight, the rise of childhood overweight and obesity has become a dominant public health challenge.
For children under 5, "overweight" is defined as a weight-for-height greater than 2 standard deviations above the median.
The 7 Countries with the Highest Prevalence (%)
The following nations record the highest percentages of overweight children under the age of five.
| Rank | Country | Prevalence Rate (%) | Key Drivers |
| 1 | Australia | 26.4% | High availability of ultra-processed foods and sedentary lifestyles. |
| 2 | Papua New Guinea | 18.5% | Rapid nutritional transition; "double burden" of malnutrition. |
| 3 | Tunisia | 17.5% | Shifts in dietary patterns toward high-sugar and high-fat imports. |
| 4 | Albania | 16.7% | Rapid urbanization and decreased physical activity in early childhood. |
| 5 | Ukraine | 16.0% | Socio-economic disruptions impacting food quality and security. |
| 6 | Paraguay | 15.4% | Significant recent increase in the Latin American region. |
| 7 | Trinidad & Tobago | 15.0% | Heavy reliance on processed food imports in the Caribbean. |
Key Global Trends
1. The "Double Burden" of Malnutrition
Many of the countries on this list face a "double burden." This occurs when high rates of childhood overweight coexist with high rates of stunting or micronutrient deficiencies in the same population—or even the same household.
2. Regional Hotspots
Latin America & The Caribbean: This region has the highest collective prevalence globally, estimated at 8.8%. South America specifically sits at 9.9%, significantly higher than the global average of 5.5%.
The Pacific: Small island nations and Australia continue to see some of the sharpest upward trajectories in weight gain among toddlers.
3. Economic Shift
Overweight is no longer just a "high-income country problem." Over 35 million children under 5 were overweight globally in the most recent counts, with nearly half of them living in Asia and an increasing number in Africa, where rates have risen by roughly 12% since 2000.
Risks for the Future
Early childhood overweight is a strong predictor of adult obesity and early-onset chronic diseases such as:
Type 2 Diabetes
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Psychosocial impacts and reduced self-esteem
Recommended Strategy: To combat these numbers, global health organizations advocate for stricter regulations on marketing breast-milk substitutes, taxing sugar-sweetened beverages, and improving the availability of fresh produce in urban "food deserts."
The Australian Paradox: Leading the World in Childhood Overweight Prevalence
While Australia is often pictured as a nation of sun-drenched athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, the data reveals a starkly different reality for its youngest citizens. With a 26.4% prevalence rate of overweight in children under 5, Australia currently ranks at the top of the list for this metric among major monitored nations.
This phenomenon is often described by health experts as an "obesogenic environment"—a society where surroundings, opportunities, and lifestyle choices unintentionally promote weight gain.
Why is Australia Ranking So High?
The high prevalence in Australia isn't the result of a single factor, but rather a "perfect storm" of cultural, economic, and environmental influences.
1. The Dominance of Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs)
Australian children are among the highest consumers of ultra-processed foods globally. UPFs—such as sugary cereals, packaged snacks, and fast food—account for a massive portion of the total energy intake for many young Australians. These foods are often cheaper and more accessible than fresh alternatives.
2. Marketing and "Sport-Washing"
There is a significant cultural link between unhealthy food and national identity:
Advertising: A high volume of food advertisements during children's peak viewing hours are for unhealthy products.
Sports Sponsorship: Fast-food logos are frequently visible during major sporting events, creating a psychological link between "unhealthy" brands and "healthy" athletic idols.
3. The Sedentary Shift
Despite the country's "outdoor" reputation, screen time among toddlers has risen. Increased urbanization has also led to more "car-centric" lifestyles, where even short trips to daycare or the park are driven rather than walked.
4. Demographic Disparities
The national average masks deeper inequalities:
Regional Divide: Children in regional and remote areas often face higher rates than those in major cities.
Socioeconomic Factors: Families facing financial stress often have less access to affordable fresh produce and health literacy programs.
National Response: The 10-Year Plan
To address these figures, the National Obesity Strategy 2022–2032 was launched. This framework focuses on several key pillars:
Improving Food Environments: Exploring stricter food labeling and potential measures to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.
Early Intervention: Providing better support for "priority populations," including culturally diverse groups and those in rural areas.
Empowering Families: Promoting dietary guidelines specifically for the critical first 2,000 days of a child's life.
The "First 2,000 Days": Health experts emphasize that the period from conception to age five is the most critical window. Habits formed during these years—from breastfeeding practices to the introduction of "discretionary" snacks—set the biological blueprint for a child's health for decades to come.
The Pacific Shift: Papua New Guinea’s Rising Childhood Overweight Rates
Papua New Guinea (PNG) presents one of the most complex health profiles in the Pacific region. Traditionally known for high rates of stunting and undernutrition, the country is now facing a rapid rise in childhood overweight, with a prevalence rate of 18.5% in children under 5.
This transition highlights a nation caught between traditional lifestyles and a modern, commercialized food system.
The Drivers of Change in PNG
The shift in Papua New Guinea is unique because it is happening alongside existing struggles with food security, creating a "double burden" of malnutrition.
1. The Nutritional Transition
As PNG modernizes, traditional diets based on root vegetables (like sweet potato and taro), greens, and fresh fish are being replaced. In both urban centers and rural villages, there is a surge in the consumption of "prestige" foods—imported, shelf-stable items like:
White rice and flour-based products.
Highly processed tinned meats.
Sugar-sweetened beverages and instant noodles.
2. High Cost of Fresh Produce
Ironically, in a land of incredible biodiversity, fresh, nutrient-dense food can be more expensive or harder to access than imported processed goods. Disrupted supply chains and the high cost of transporting fresh goods from the Highlands to coastal cities mean that many families rely on cheaper, calorie-dense but nutrient-poor imports.
3. Perception of Health
In many communities, a "heavier" child was historically viewed as a sign of health and prosperity—a biological buffer against illness or food shortages. As dietary patterns change, this cultural perception sometimes makes it difficult for parents to recognize the health risks associated with early-childhood overweight.
4. Urbanization and Physical Activity
The rapid growth of cities like Port Moresby has led to more sedentary lifestyles. Limited safe play areas and a shift away from subsistence farming toward office or informal market work mean that children are moving less than previous generations.
The Consequences: The Double Burden
PNG is a primary example of the Double Burden of Malnutrition. It is common to see:
Stunting and Overweight: Children who are short for their age (stunted) but also overweight for their height. This combination is particularly dangerous as it significantly increases the risk of metabolic diseases later in life.
Household Paradox: A household where a mother may be overweight while a child is stunted, or where one sibling is underweight and another is overweight, due to the poor quality of available calories.
Moving Forward
Efforts to curb these rates in Papua New Guinea focus on:
Promoting "Local Foods": Encouraging a return to traditional diets through education and supporting local agriculture.
The First 1,000 Days: Focusing health interventions on pregnant mothers and infants to ensure proper nutrition from the very beginning.
Health Literacy: Helping families distinguish between "filling" foods and "nourishing" foods to prevent the early onset of lifestyle-related diseases.
Key Challenge: For PNG, the goal is not just reducing calories, but improving nutrient density. Addressing the 18.5% overweight rate requires fixing the food system so that the healthy choice is also the most affordable and accessible choice for every family.
The Mediterranean Transition: Tunisia’s Rising Child Overweight Trends
Tunisia has experienced one of the most rapid "nutrition transitions" in North Africa. Currently, the prevalence of overweight in children under 5 stands at 17.5%, making it one of the highest in the region. This shift reflects a move away from the traditional Mediterranean diet toward more westernized, energy-dense eating patterns.
Why is Tunisia Facing This Challenge?
The rise in childhood overweight in Tunisia is fueled by a mix of socioeconomic progress, changing household dynamics, and modern food environments.
1. The "Westernization" of the Diet
While the traditional Tunisian diet is rich in legumes, olive oil, and vegetables, there has been a marked increase in the consumption of "modern" foods.
Refined Carbohydrates: A heavy reliance on subsidized white bread and pasta.
Sugar Intake: High rates of sugar consumption, largely driven by sugar-sweetened beverages and snacks.
Processed Dairy: Rapid growth in the marketing of flavored yogurts and dairy snacks targeted specifically at toddlers.
2. High Urbanization Rates
Over 70% of Tunisians now live in urban areas. This shift has led to:
Sedentary Lifestyles: Urban children have less space for active outdoor play compared to those in rural, agricultural areas.
Convenience Foods: Working parents in cities are increasingly relying on ready-made, processed foods that are high in salt and fat.
3. Cultural Perceptions of Weight
Historically, in North African culture, a "plump" child was often seen as a sign of health and prosperity. While medical awareness is increasing, these traditional views can sometimes delay the recognition of overweight as a health risk during the critical preschool years.
4. Maternal Health Link
Research shows a strong correlation between maternal BMI and child weight. With a high percentage of adult women in Tunisia living with obesity, many children are biologically and environmentally predisposed to weight gain from birth.
The "Double Burden" in Tunisia
Like many middle-income nations, Tunisia faces the Double Burden of Malnutrition.
Stunting Co-existence: While overweight is rising, a significant portion of the child population still suffers from stunting (low height-for-age).
Micronutrient Deficiencies: It is common for an overweight child to also suffer from anemia or Vitamin D deficiency, as the calories they are consuming are high in energy but low in essential nutrients.
National Initiatives
Focus is being placed on several key interventions:
Promoting Breastfeeding: Encouraging breastfeeding as a primary defense against early childhood overweight.
Childcare Standards: Setting stricter nutritional guidelines for meals provided in nurseries and preschools.
Public Awareness: Campaigns to re-educate the public on the benefits of the traditional Mediterranean diet—high in fiber and healthy fats—as a tool for weight management.
Looking Ahead: Tunisia’s challenge is to decouple its economic development from the rise in lifestyle-related diseases. By protecting the traditional food culture and improving urban play spaces, the goal is to stabilize these rates before the next generation reaches school age.
Albania: Balancing Rapid Modernization and Childhood Health
Albania holds a distinct position in the European landscape, with a childhood overweight prevalence of 16.7% among children under 5. This rate is nearly three times the global average, reflecting a nation undergoing a massive cultural and economic shift.
While the country has made some progress since its peak in 2012, childhood weight remains a primary public health concern for the Balkan region.
The Drivers of Change in Albania
The rise in childhood overweight in Albania is largely tied to the country's rapid transition from a closed, agrarian society to a modern, urbanized economy.
1. Rapid Urbanization
Over the last two decades, a significant portion of the population has moved from rural villages to cities like Tirana. This has fundamentally changed how children spend their time:
Decreased Physical Activity: Urban environments often lack safe, accessible green spaces for toddlers, leading to more indoor, sedentary play.
Commuting Habits: Walking has been replaced by car-centric travel in increasingly congested cities.
2. The Influence of Parental Education and Income
In Albania, childhood overweight is often higher in households with medium to high education levels. In this developmental stage of the country, higher income often correlates with:
Greater access to expensive, imported, and highly processed "status" foods.
A higher reliance on convenience foods due to both parents entering the urban workforce.
3. Screen Time and Digital Play
The "digital babysitter" phenomenon is a growing trend. Research indicates that children spending more than 2 hours per day in front of screens have a significantly higher risk of being overweight compared to those with limited screen time. This is often linked to the consumption of high-calorie snacks while distracted by devices.
4. Intergenerational Health Factors
There is a strong link between parental health and child weight. Children of parents with chronic conditions like hypertension or diabetes are more likely to be overweight. This suggests a shared family environment where high-calorie, low-nutrient diets have become the norm.
Regional Context
Albania’s figures are notably higher than many of its neighbors. Recent estimates show:
Albania: ~17%
North Macedonia: ~12%
Serbia: ~12%
Montenegro: ~9%
This gap suggests that while the entire Balkan region is facing a nutrition transition, the pace and impact of "food environment" changes have been particularly intense in Albania.
National Action and Progress
Strategies currently being implemented to address these trends include:
"Baby Friendly" Initiatives: Improving breastfeeding rates, which serve as a natural defense against early-childhood weight gain.
Childcare Reform: Setting stricter nutritional standards for the meals and snacks allowed in nurseries and early-education centers.
Public Awareness: Campaigns to promote traditional Mediterranean fruits and vegetables over processed snacks, focusing on the cultural heritage of the Albanian diet.
The Urban-Rural Divide: A key takeaway for Albania is the disparity between city and country. While rural children often benefit from more traditional diets and active lifestyles, urban children are at the "front line" of the obesity epidemic, requiring targeted interventions in city planning and food marketing.
Ukraine: Resilience and the Crisis of Early Childhood Overweight
Ukraine occupies a complex position in the global nutrition landscape. With a prevalence rate of 16.0% for overweight in children under 5, it ranks among the top nations globally for this metric.
While the country has historically faced challenges with undernutrition, a rapid "nutritional transition" has created a unique set of challenges compounded by significant socio-economic disruptions.
Why is Ukraine Ranking So High?
The high prevalence in Ukraine is driven by a combination of traditional habits, economic shifts, and the profound impact of ongoing instability.
1. The Impact of Stress and Displacement
Ongoing instability has fundamentally altered the lifestyle and biology of many Ukrainian children.
Stress Response: High levels of chronic stress in toddlers can lead to metabolic changes and "emotional eating" patterns from a very early age.
Disruption of Routine: Displacement has limited the space and safety for active, outdoor play, leading to more sedentary behavior in confined environments.
Food Accessibility: When fresh food supplies are disrupted, families often turn to shelf-stable, calorie-dense, and highly processed options that are easier to store and transport.
2. High Consumption of "Hidden" Sugars
Many processed foods marketed for children are high in refined sugars and starches. Studies indicate that a significant portion of the daily caloric intake for toddlers comes from sugar-sweetened beverages and confectionery, which are often cheaper and more readily available than fresh produce during times of crisis.
3. The "Grandparent Effect" and Cultural Heritage
In Ukrainian culture, there is often a strong intergenerational tradition of overfeeding young children as a sign of care. Following historical periods of food scarcity, "plumpness" in a child is sometimes still viewed by older generations as a vital indicator of health and resilience against future hardship.
4. Urbanization and Screen Time
In major cities, the "digital babysitter" trend is prominent. With parks sometimes inaccessible or deemed unsafe, toddlers are spending more time on tablets and phones, which is directly correlated with higher weight-for-height metrics.
The Double Burden: Conflict and Health
Ukraine is a clear example of the Double Burden of Malnutrition.
Co-existence of Stunting: While a large percentage of children are overweight, there remain segments of the population who suffer from stunting (low height-for-age) due to inconsistent access to protein and diverse nutrients.
Nutritional Gaps: Overweight children are frequently found to be deficient in essential micronutrients like Iron and Vitamin D, as their diet is "energy-rich but nutrient-poor."
National and International Response
Despite the current challenges, health authorities and international partners are working to stabilize these trends:
School Nutrition Reform: A major national initiative continues to modernize nursery and school menus, focusing on reducing salt, sugar, and trans fats while increasing whole grains.
Pediatric Monitoring: Strengthening the role of primary care physicians in tracking growth metrics during routine check-ups to identify early signs of rapid weight gain.
Emergency Food Standards: Collaborating with aid organizations to ensure that food assistance packages include fortified, low-sugar options specifically designed for young children.
The Survival Paradox: In Ukraine, the challenge is shifting the mindset from "survival at any cost" (which favors high-calorie, shelf-stable foods) to "nutritional resilience." Protecting the metabolism of the youngest generation is a critical component of the nation's long-term health and recovery.
Paraguay: The Crossroads of Economic Growth and Nutritional Challenge
Paraguay has seen a significant shift in its public health landscape. While the country has successfully reduced general poverty in recent years, it now faces an escalating prevalence of childhood overweight. For children under 5, the prevalence rate stands at 15.4%, which is more than double the regional average for Latin America.
In Paraguay, overweight is now a more widespread public health issue for young children than traditional undernutrition.
The Drivers of Change in Paraguay
The rise in childhood overweight in Paraguay is fueled by a rapid "nutritional transition" where traditional diets are being replaced by high-calorie, processed options.
1. The Ultra-Processed Food Environment
The food market has seen a surge in the availability of nutrient-poor, calorie-rich foods.
Affordability: Ultra-processed snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages are often cheaper and more widely available than fresh fruits and vegetables, which are perceived as expensive in urban settings.
Early Introduction: A significant concern is the very early introduction of "artificial juices" and sodas to infants and toddlers, often before they reach one year of age.
2. Low Rates of Exclusive Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is a natural defense against early childhood obesity, yet rates of exclusive breastfeeding remain lower than global targets. The early transition to breast-milk substitutes and complementary foods—often high in sugar—sets a metabolic blueprint for weight gain.
3. Cultural Perceptions and Diet
Traditional cuisine is culturally rich but often high in fats and refined carbohydrates (such as mandioca and flour-based products). In many communities, a "heavy" child is still culturally viewed as a "healthy" child, making it difficult for parents to perceive overweight as a medical risk.
4. The "Indigenous Gap"
National averages often hide deep disparities. While the general population struggles with overweight, indigenous communities often face a different crisis:
Stunting: A high percentage of indigenous children suffer from chronic malnutrition (stunting). This creates a complex policy challenge where the government must fight both undernutrition and overnutrition simultaneously.
The Double Burden of Malnutrition
Paraguay is a primary example of the Double Burden of Malnutrition, occurring at multiple levels:
Individual Level: A child may be "stunted" (short for their age) but also "overweight" (heavy for their height).
Household Level: It is increasingly common to find an overweight parent and a stunted or anemic child in the same home, often due to a diet that is high in calories but devoid of essential vitamins and minerals.
National Strategies for Change
Several strategies have been implemented to tackle these trends:
Nutritional Surveillance: Strengthening the tracking of child growth at the community level to identify at-risk children early.
School and Community Programs: Promoting healthy lifestyles in schools to influence family eating habits.
Healthy Food Access: Working to improve the affordability of fresh produce in rural and low-income urban areas to compete with processed goods.
The Economic Paradox: As the economy grows, the challenge remains ensuring that this progress translates into nutritional quality rather than just caloric quantity. Without intervention, the current 15.4% rate could lead to a surge in adult diabetes and heart disease in the coming decades.
Trinidad & Tobago: Confronting the Caribbean Obesity Crisis
Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) faces one of the highest childhood overweight rates in the Caribbean. For children under 5, the prevalence is estimated at 15.0% (with some regional assessments placing it closer to 11.4% as a conservative baseline). This figure is significantly higher than the global average and places the twin-island republic in a critical battle against what health officials call a "silent pandemic."
In the Caribbean context, T&T is a leader in implementing aggressive policy changes to reverse these trends.
Why is Trinidad & Tobago Ranking So High?
The rise in childhood overweight in T&T is a byproduct of high import reliance and a rapid shift in lifestyle over the last few decades.
1. Import-Dependent Food Systems
Trinidad and Tobago imports a vast majority of its food supply. This has led to an "import-driven nutrition transition" where fresh, local produce is often more expensive than imported, shelf-stable, and ultra-processed products. For many families, calorie-dense foods like white flour, refined sugars, and vegetable oils have become the most affordable staples.
2. The "Sugary Drink" Culture
Historically, T&T has had very high consumption rates of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Even for toddlers under 5, flavored drinks and sodas were frequently introduced early in life. The high availability of these beverages, coupled with intensive marketing, has historically normalized high-sugar intake from infancy.
3. Early Feeding Practices
Data suggests that exclusive breastfeeding rates in T&T remain below global targets. The early introduction of infant cereals and breast-milk substitutes—which can be higher in sugar than natural breast milk—contributes to early rapid weight gain in the first 1,000 days of life.
4. Limited Physical Play
Increasing urbanization and safety concerns have shifted childhood from "the yard" to "the screen." In many urban centers like Port of Spain, there is a lack of safe, green spaces for young children to engage in active play, leading to more sedentary behavior in the home environment.
The Double Burden of Malnutrition
T&T illustrates the Double Burden of Malnutrition common in middle-to-high-income Caribbean nations:
Overweight vs. Anemia: While 15% of children under 5 are overweight, a significant portion of the population (especially women of reproductive age) suffers from anaemia. This indicates that while the population is consuming enough calories, they are often deficient in essential nutrients like iron.
Wasting and Stunting: Small pockets of under-5 children still face wasting (low weight-for-height), requiring health systems to manage two opposite extremes of malnutrition simultaneously.
National Action: "War on Childhood Obesity"
In early 2026, the government of Trinidad and Tobago accelerated its response with the launch of an updated Schools Nutrition Policy. Key features include:
The Five-Point Check-list: A strict nutritional vetting process for all foods sold on school grounds. If a snack fails even one criterion (e.g., too much sodium or sugar), it is prohibited.
Phase-out of Artificials: Complete exclusion of energy drinks and artificial sweeteners from school and nursery environments.
The Sugary Drink Ban: Building on the 2017 ban, the 2026 update further restricts the marketing of ultra-processed products to children, ensuring that water and 100% fruit juices are the primary options.
Maternal Health Focus: New initiatives to provide nutrition counseling to expectant mothers to ensure healthy birth weights and promote breastfeeding.
The 2030 Goal: Trinidad and Tobago is aiming to align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.4—reducing premature mortality from non-communicable diseases. By focusing on the "under-5" demographic, the nation hopes to "reset" the health trajectory of the next generation before they reach adulthood.
The Drivers of a Global Crisis: Factors Influencing Early Childhood Overweight
The prevalence of overweight in children under 5 is no longer just a symptom of high-income lifestyles; it is a complex, multifaceted crisis affecting nations across every economic bracket. While the highest-ranking nations vary significantly in geography and wealth, they share common drivers that push their youngest populations toward metabolic risk.
1. The Proliferation of "Obesogenic" Environments
In many nations, children are growing up in environments that naturally encourage weight gain. This is driven by two main forces:
Availability of Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs): In developed and rapidly developing nations alike, UPFs (high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats) are often cheaper, more convenient, and more aggressively marketed than fresh produce.
Urbanization and Safety: As populations move to cities, outdoor play is often restricted by a lack of green spaces or safety concerns. This leads to increased sedentary time and a reliance on screens for entertainment.
2. The "Nutrition Transition"
This factor is particularly evident in emerging economies. As these nations modernize, traditional diets—once rich in local tubers, greens, and natural proteins—are being rapidly replaced by "prestige" imported foods like white rice, sugary cereals, and instant noodles. These foods provide high calories but lack the essential micronutrients needed for healthy development.
3. Critical Windows: Pregnancy and Infancy
Modern health data highlights that a child's weight trajectory is often set before they even reach age two.
Maternal Health: High maternal BMI or gestational conditions can biologically predispose a child for faster weight gain.
Feeding Practices: Low rates of exclusive breastfeeding and the early introduction of sugar-sweetened "follow-on" milks, juices, or sweetened porridges are major contributors to early-childhood weight gain.
4. Socio-Economic and Psychological Stressors
Crisis and instability can paradoxically lead to weight gain rather than loss.
The Stress Paradox: Chronic stress and trauma in a household can lead to metabolic changes and "emotional eating" patterns even in toddlers.
Food Insecurity: When fresh food is hard to find or expensive, families prioritize calorie-dense, shelf-stable items (bread, pasta, canned goods) to ensure the child feels "full," leading to high weight despite poor nutritional quality.
5. Cultural Perceptions of Health
In many communities, a "heavy" child is still culturally celebrated as a sign of vitality, prosperity, and good parenting. This historical mindset—often rooted in a past history of food scarcity—can make it difficult for families to recognize when a child's weight-for-height has crossed into a medical risk zone.
Conclusion: A Call for Systemic Change
The high prevalence of childhood overweight across diverse nations proves that this is not a failure of individual parenting, but a failure of global food systems. Whether it is the commercial influence in developed nations, the rapid economic shift in the Pacific, or the socio-political disruptions in Eastern Europe, the root causes are systemic.
Addressing this crisis requires more than just dietary advice; it demands:
Policy Intervention: Stricter regulations on marketing unhealthy foods to toddlers and potential measures to reduce sugary drink consumption.
Environmental Reform: Urban planning that prioritizes safe, active play spaces for the youngest children.
Nutritional Equity: Making fresh, traditional, and local foods the most affordable and accessible choice for all families.
Without a unified effort to protect the first years of life, these nations face a future of skyrocketing healthcare costs and a generation burdened by preventable chronic diseases before they even reach adulthood.