The guidelines, released on October 7, 2026, provide recommendations for health workers and health systems on delivering evidence-based and people-centred care to children and adolescents living with obesity.
WHO said an estimated 170 million children and adolescents aged five to 19 were living with obesity in 2024, including about 70 million children aged five to nine and 100 million adolescents aged 10 to 19.
The organisation also said obesity prevalence among people aged five to 19 has quadrupled globally since 1990, rising from 2 per cent to 8 per cent.
Rather than treating weight reduction as the only measure of success, WHO said obesity care should focus on improving children's overall health, functioning and well-being.
For children under the age of 10, the new guideline does not recommend weight-loss medicines, bariatric surgery or weight-management devices. Instead, it places greater emphasis on healthy nutrition, physical activity, reducing sedentary behaviour, adequate sleep and behavioural interventions.
WHO said these interventions can be delivered individually or combined as part of broader programmes tailored to the needs of children and their families.
Digital health interventions may also form part of care where appropriate, with parental or caregiver involvement.
The recommendations are different for adolescents aged 10 to 19.
According to WHO's separate adolescent guideline, weight-management medicines may be considered for some adolescents living with obesity when a supervised, comprehensive lifestyle programme has not produced the desired health outcomes.
Bariatric surgery may also be considered for adolescents with severe obesity under carefully controlled conditions and as part of comprehensive medical care.
The distinction means the new guidance does not amount to a blanket ban on obesity medicines or surgery for everyone below the age of 20.
Instead, WHO has adopted an age-specific approach that places lifestyle and behavioural interventions at the centre of treatment, while allowing additional medical options for appropriately selected adolescents.
The health agency also stressed that obesity should be managed as a chronic, relapsing disease rather than simply a short-term weight problem.
WHO said the effects of obesity can begin early in life and increase the risk of health problems such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease later on.
The organisation further highlighted the psychological and social challenges that can accompany childhood obesity.
Children and adolescents living with obesity may experience stigma, discrimination, bullying and other pressures that can affect their well-being. WHO therefore recommends that healthcare approaches take mental and social well-being into account alongside physical health.
The new recommendations come as obesity continues to become a major global health concern. WHO's latest data shows that obesity has increased sharply among children and adolescents over recent decades, while obesity overall affected about 1.1 billion people worldwide in 2024.
For health systems, WHO said the guidelines are intended to support integrated care through primary healthcare and to help countries adapt evidence-based approaches to their own health systems.
The guidelines also consider factors such as benefits and potential harms, costs, feasibility, equity and the preferences of children, adolescents and their caregivers.
For Nigeria and other countries dealing with changing dietary patterns and rising noncommunicable diseases, the recommendations add to the growing focus on prevention, early intervention and healthier environments for children.
WHO's message is that managing obesity among young people requires more than focusing on the number on a scale. Nutrition, physical activity, behaviour, sleep, mental well-being and access to appropriate healthcare all form part of the broader response.
Reporting by TalkNaijaMedia
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