WEIGHT loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy are not a "silver bullet" for addressing the rapid rise in obesity rates, the World Health Organization's (WHO) nutrition chief told Reuters, as the agency conducts its first review of obesity management guidelines in more than 20 years.
WHO is first revising guidelines for treating children and adolescents with obesity, and then for adults, said Francesco Branca, WHO Director of nutrition and food safety.
Branca said that other interventions, including diet and exercise, remain critical to help manage obesity.
The latest WHO data shows that the percentage of children and adolescents aged five to 19 who are obese or overweight has risen to just over 18% in 2016 from 4% in 1975, and this now represents more than 340 million people.
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