To Treat Obesity.. The World Health Organization Supports the Use of GLP-1 Drugs

SadaNews - On Monday, the World Health Organization released its first guidelines regarding the use of "GLP-1" drugs for treating obesity and recommended their use under certain conditions, as part of a long-term treatment strategy for a condition that the organization says affects more than a billion people worldwide.

The organization issued these guidelines amid increasing demand for a class of drugs known as "glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogs" globally.

Governments are seeking to understand how to integrate these popular treatments into public health systems.

The first conditional recommendation calls for the use of "GLP-1" medications for long-term obesity treatment in adults, excluding pregnant women, while the second recommendation suggests combining these drugs with a healthy diet and physical activity.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that this move "recognizes obesity as a chronic disease that can be treated through comprehensive lifelong care," but he warned that medication alone will not solve this widespread health crisis.

Ghebreyesus added, "Our biggest concern is equitable access to medications, and without concerted efforts, these drugs may widen the gap between the rich and the poor, both between countries and within them."

Source: German news agency + Reuters