GENEVA, Switzerland -- Medicine and surgery are not the answer for overweight children, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. Releasing its first guidelines addressing the sharp rise in obesity among children and adolescents, the WHO instead strongly recommended structured diets, physical activity and behaviour changes. “WHO does not recommend pharmacological treatment, bariatric surgery (surgery that changes the stomach or digestive tract) or weight-loss devices for children aged 0-9 years,” it said. “For adolescents aged 10-19 years, treatment with approved medicines may be considered only when a supervised multimodal lifestyle programme has not achieved the desired results. “Bariatric surgery may be considered under strict conditions for adolescents with severe obesity.” The recommendations for those aged 19 and under contrast with the UN health agency’s guidelines for adult obesity issued in December 2025, following the surge in popularity of a new generation of appetite-suppressing drugs called GLP-1 agonists -- which includes blockbuster brands Ozempic and Mounjaro. The WHO said the range of weight-loss and diabetes drugs could be used for tackling obesity -- in adults. 170 million affected In 2024, some 70 million children aged five to nine were obese, as were 100 million adolescents aged 10 to 19 worldwide, according to the WHO. Among 5- to 19-year-olds, the prevalence of obesity has surged globally, rising from two percent in 1990 to eight percent in 2024. “The rise of obesity is observed everywhere in all regions,” said Luz Maria De Regil, director of the WHO’s nutrition and food safety department. “It’s growing in low- and middle-income countries,” while some high-income countries are starting to stop the rise of obesity, without yet making reductions. “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 behaviour change,” she said. The recommendations also stressed the importance of addressing mental health alongside obesity. Anxiety, depression and low self-esteem can contribute to unhealthy eating, physical inactivity and social withdrawal, the WHO said. Children and adolescents living with obesity may experience stigma and bullying, the UN health agency added. Maria Nieves Garcia Casal, a scientist in the WHO’s nutrition and food safety department, told reporters that bariatric surgery may be considered during adolescence for cases of severe obesity accompanied by complications such as type 2 diabetes or hypertension -- if diet and lifestyle changes have failed.
