The World Health Organization (WHO) released its first guideline on the use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies for treating obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease and addressing its growing global health challenge on December 1, 2025.
The guidance focuses on GLP-1 therapies (medicines such as liraglutide, semaglutide and tirzepatide) and offers conditional recommendations on how they can be used safely as part of long-term treatment.
In September 2025, WHO added GLP-1 therapies to its Essential Medicines List for managing type 2 diabetes.
While GLP-1 therapies represent the first efficacious treatment option for adults with obesity, the WHO guideline emphasises that medicines alone will not solve the problem.
Addressing obesity requires a fundamental reorientation of current approaches to a comprehensive strategy built with three pillars:
· Creating healthier environments through robust population-level policies to promote health and prevent obesity;
· Protecting individuals at high risk of developing obesity and related comorbidities through targeted screening and structured early interventions; and
· Ensuring access to lifelong, person-centred care.
This guideline is a key deliverable under the WHO acceleration plan to stop obesity and will be updated regularly as new evidence emerges.
With the new guideline, WHO issued conditional recommendations for using these therapies to support people living with obesity in overcoming this serious health challenge, as part of a comprehensive approach that includes healthy diets, regular physical activity and support from health professionals.
While the WHO has supported long-term use of these medicines in adults, except pregnant women, the recommendation is not strong owing to the lack of data on long-term use of the medicines.
More than one billion people worldwide live with obesity, which was linked to 3.7 million deaths in 2024.
WHO stressed that obesity is not simply the result of lifestyle choices, but a complex, chronic condition involving genetics, environment, biology and social circumstances.
It is a major driver of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers, and can worsen outcomes for infectious diseases as well. For many people, losing weight and keeping it off is extremely challenging without medical support.
Without stronger action, the number of people affected could double by 2030, placing immense pressure on health systems and pushing global economic losses to an estimated $3 trillion a year, the global body warned.
The guideline emphasised the importance of fair access to GLP-1 therapies and preparing health systems for use of these medicines. Without deliberate policies, access to these therapies could exacerbate existing health disparities.
The organisation also called for urgent action on manufacturing, affordability, and system readiness to meet global needs.