The World Health Organization released its first‑ever international guidelines on managing childhood obesity, outlining a wide range of diet, activity and behaviour interventions for young people worldwide.

The guidance draws a clear line by age: children up to nine years old should not receive medical treatment, surgery or weight‑loss devices. For youths aged 10 to 19, medicines such as GLP‑1 drugs can be considered only after a supervised lifestyle programme has failed, and bariatric surgery is permitted only under strict conditions for severe obesity.

GLP‑1 medicines work by mimicking the body’s glucagon‑like peptide‑1 hormone. This action helps curb appetite, slows digestion and helps regulate blood‑sugar levels, according to the WHO.

The WHO also warns that the evidence supporting medication‑based treatments for childhood obesity is generally of low quality, so it urges caution. "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," said Dr. Luz María De Regil, the WHO’s director of the department of nutrition and food safety.

These new age‑based rules mean doctors will need to start with structured, long‑term lifestyle support and only move to drugs or surgery when that approach does not work. Families can expect a stepwise process that prioritises non‑medical interventions before considering GLP‑1 therapy or surgery.