WHO obesity guidelines reject drugs for under-10s

The World Health Organization says obesity drugs, bariatric surgery and weight-loss devices should not be used for children under 10, in its first guidelines on obesity care for children and adolescents.

The UN health agency strongly recommended structured diet, physical activity and behaviour changes as the foundation of care for people aged 19 and under.

For adolescents aged 10 to 19, the WHO said approved medicines may be considered only when a supervised programme combining lifestyle measures has not achieved the desired results. Bariatric surgery may be considered under strict conditions for adolescents with severe obesity.

The recommendations differ from the WHO's December 2025 guidelines for adults, which said a new generation of appetite-suppressing GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic and Mounjaro, could be used to tackle adult obesity.

The WHO said about 70 million children aged five to nine and 100 million adolescents aged 10 to 19 were obese worldwide in 2024. Among five- to 19-year-olds, it said obesity prevalence rose from two percent in 1990 to eight percent in 2024.

Luz Maria De Regil, director of the WHO's nutrition and food safety department, said the foundation of care for children and adolescents was not medicine or surgery, but access to support for healthy eating, physical activity and sustainable behaviour change.

The WHO also said mental health should be addressed alongside obesity, saying anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, stigma and bullying can affect children and adolescents living with obesity.