The World Health Organisation recommended against using pharmacological drugs to treat obesity for children under the age of 10, as well as cautioning against bariatric surgery, i.e weight-loss surgery that alters the stomach or digestive tract, or weight-loss devices, in a press release on Wednesday.
Luz De Regil, director of the WHO Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, stated that there was not enough evidence for the use of such drugs in young children, as per a Bloomberg report.
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“Maybe as the evidence builds and grows, we are able to say something different," Regil said, as per the report.
Use of such drugs to treat obesity in children from a young age in lieu of having them change their eating and exercise habits may also increase the healthcare costs they incur throughout their lives, according to Laurence Grummer-Strawn, unit head of nutrition and food safety at WHO.
"It's not clear how long the medicines will remain effective, what their long-term side effects are and whether children would be willing to remain on the drugs long-term after they've lost weight," he said, as quoted by Bloomberg.
WHO instead strongly recommends having children adopt structured diet and exercise routines along with behaviour-changing interventions delivered individually or as part of a multimodal programme. It conditionally recommends digital health interventions if undertaken with parent or caregiver supervision.
The global health body stated that treatment of obesity in adolescents aged 10-19 years with approved medicines might be worth considering if the aforementioned supervised multiomodal programme has not yielded the required results. It stated that bariatric surgery under stringent conditions is a viable option only to those adolescents with severe obesity.
Luz De Regil stressed upon prioritising access to a healthy diet, sustainable behavioural modification and physical activity for children and adolescents instead of medical intervention.
“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,” Luz De Regil said.
"Our priority must be to ensure that every child and adolescent can access quality care and supportive environments from an early age, helping them achieve and maintain a healthy weight and laying the foundation for lifelong health and well-being," she added.
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WHO also noted the importance of mental health when it comes to regulating obesity in children, with mental health issues often contributing to poor eating habits, and decrease in socialising and physical activity, making mental healthcare as much of a priority as physical well-being.
"Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and emotional dysregulation can contribute to unhealthy eating behaviours, physical inactivity and social withdrawal, and children and adolescents living with obesity may experience stigma and bullying that harm their emotional well-being. Health workers should address both obesity and mental health conditions early and together, using inclusive, developmentally appropriate and family-engaged strategies," the release said.
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