Obesity in children and adolescents in different racial and ethnic groups: a review of current studies

Childhood and adolescent obesity has become a pressing problem worldwide with intensely progressive prevalence and long-term negative health consequences. The increase in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in both developed and developing countries over the past three decades confirms that childhood obesity is a global epidemic. The review article presents the results of studies on childhood and adolescent obesity in different racial and ethnic groups conducted in Russia, Europe, USA, Mexico, China, South Korea, Japan, Africa, Australia, published in recent decades (2010-2025). Factors of obesity including behavioral, cultural, socioeconomic and genetic were analyzed. Overall, the findings demonstrate that there are racial and ethnic predisposition factors for childhood and adolescent obesity, such as African American and Hispanic children. The need for in-depth research on obesity in children and adolescents of the Finno-Ugric and Caucasian peoples of Russia was substantiated due to the lack of special scientific works on this topic.