Latest Health: Fix! WHO Releases Guidelines for Use of GLP-1 Drugs for Obese People

The World Health Organization (WHO) released its first guidance on the use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapy to treat obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease.
This step was taken to address a growing global health challenge, with obesity affecting more than 1 billion people worldwide.
In September 2025, WHO has added GLP-1 therapy to the Essential Medicines List for managing type 2 diabetes in high-risk groups.
With this new guidance, WHO issued a conditional recommendation to use GLP-1 therapies including liraglutide, semaglutide, and tirzepatide to support people living with obesity.
“Our new guidelines recognize that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong care,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO, quoted from the official WHO website, Tuesday (2/12/2025).

The new WHO guidelines contain two main conditional recommendations:
GLP-1 therapy can be used by adults, except pregnant women, for the long-term treatment of obesity. Despite the clear effectiveness of these drugs, their recommendations are conditional due to limited data on long-term efficacy and safety, current costs, inadequate health system preparedness, and potential implications for equity of access.

Intensive behavioral interventions, including a healthy diet and structured physical activity, may be offered to obese adults prescribed GLP-1 therapy, as evidence suggests this may improve treatment outcomes.

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