The World Health Organization (WHO) has for the first time endorsed the use of weight-loss jabs to treat obesity, saying the condition should be recognised not just as a lifestyle issue but as a serious, long-term disease.
In new draft guidance, the agency urged countries to shift their approach and begin treating obesity as a chronic illness that requires proper medical care. It described obesity as a “chronic, progressive and relapsing disease” that affects more than one billion people worldwide, across both high- and low-income countries, and contributes to millions of preventable deaths.
The WHO’s expert committee concluded that GLP-1 drugs, first developed by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, should be considered part of the long-term treatment of obesity for patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. The draft guidelines recommend combining the medications with counselling on lifestyle and behaviour changes.
Published online and open for consultation until September 27, the draft marks the first time the WHO has formally recommended the use of such drugs.
The agency said the response to obesity has too often been shaped by outdated views that frame it solely as a lifestyle choice. Instead, it argued, medication should be seen as a critical step toward establishing a global standard of care.
The WHO is also preparing separate guidance on treating obesity in children and adolescents.
While the draft guidelines apply only to adults with a BMI above 30, some high-income countries, including the United States, already recommend the drugs for people with a BMI between 27 and 30 if they also have weight-related medical conditions.
Earlier this month, however, the WHO stopped short of adding the medicines to its essential medicines list, a separate catalogue of treatments that should be universally available across functioning health systems.
About the Author
