Mirian Gom 
ABUJA, Nigeria – About one in three adolescents in Nigeria is underweight, raising alarm over nutrition and long-term health risks for young people, according to a new government report.
The 2025 State of the Health of the Nation Report released by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on Wednesday finds that 31 per cent of adolescents aged 10–19 is classified as thin or underweight.
Health experts warn that poor nutrition during adolescence — a critical stage of development — can affect physical growth, cognitive performance and reproductive health later in life.
For girls, inadequate nutrition during teenage years may increase the risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
The report highlights broader concerns about malnutrition across the country.
Data show about two million Nigerian children suffers from severe acute malnutrition, yet only two in ten receive treatment.
Severe acute malnutrition weakens the immune system and increases vulnerability to infections, which can become fatal without proper treatment.
The crisis is particularly severe in northern Nigeria where poverty, conflict and limited access to healthcare worsen food insecurity.
In Katsina State, the humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports that more than 650 children have died this year from complications linked to severe acute malnutrition.
Despite the worrying trend, the report notes that 63 per cent of Nigerian adolescents fall within the normal weight range, while five per cent are overweight and one per cent obese.
The government says it has expanded school-based health programmes, including nutrition education, routine health screening, deworming services and hygiene campaigns.
Officials say the goal is to provide integrated adolescent health services through schools, healthcare facilities and community programmes.
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Oluwatobi Adu 
Hussaini Ibrahim 
Edino Chubiyo Cornelius 
Koko Maxwella