A selection of injector pens for the Wegovy weight loss drug are shown in this photo illustration in Chicago, Illinois, US, March 31, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS)

The global health body is first revising guidelines for treating children and adolescents with obesity, and will then update recommendations for adults, said Francesco Branca, WHO director of nutrition and food safety.

The WHO has commissioned the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Italy, to assess the evidence for the use of all drugs for children and adolescents.

“The kind of communication that has been done around these drugs – ‘We’ve found a solution’ – that’s wrong,” Branca said. Drugs for obesity are important but must be “part of a comprehensive approach,” he said.

Branca noted that other interventions, including diet and exercise, remain critical to help manage obesity.

The latest WHO data shows that the percentage of children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 who are obese or overweight has risen to over 18% in 2016 from 4% in 1975, and this now represents more than 340 million people.