GLP-1s sidelined in WHO’s first-ever guidelines targeting child obesity

The World Health Organization on Thursday recommended dietary control, increased physical activity, and behavioral changes over the use of highly popular weight-loss drugs in its first-ever guidelines targeting child and adolescent obesity.

According to the WHO, the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents aged 5–19 years has quadrupled to 8% from 2% since 1990, reaching 170M by 2024.

Noting obesity as a global epidemic, the WHO stated that its consequences begin early in life, including an increased risk of noncommunicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes and psychological effects such as stigma and discrimination.

The WHO said that it recommends dietary, physical activity, and behavior-changing interventions to address childhood obesity, noting that obesity treatments, weight-loss surgery, and weight-loss devices are not appropriate for children aged up to nine years.

For those aged 10–19 years, the WHO states that approved pharmacological treatments can only be considered when other interventions have failed, and weight loss surgery is recommended only for adolescents with severe obesity under strict conditions.

“The foundation of obesity care for children and adolescents is not medicine or surgery, but access to comprehensive support that enables healthy eating, physical activity, and sustainable behavior change,” said Luz María De Regil, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at WHO.

Weight loss treatments, including Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Zepbound, belong to a treatment class called GLP-1s, which, according to Wall Street analysts, are expected to generate as much as $100B in sales annually by 2030.

While Zepbound is only indicated for those aged 18 years and older, in 2023, the FDA expanded the Wegovy label to include adolescents aged 12 years and older.