New Delhi, Dec. 3 -- The World Health Organization has come out with the first ever guidelines on the global use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) medicines for "treating obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease."

The WHO, in a blog post published on 1 December, notes that obesity is a global affliction and 3.7 million deaths were connected to the disease in 2024. The world health body claims that if decisive action is not taken, the figure can double by 2030.

The GLP-1 therapies were added to the WHO's Essential Medicines List for managing type-2 diabetes in high-risk groups. Now with the new guideline, it has recommended the use of such drugs to over the 'serious health challenge' of obesity. However, such drugs are part of a comprehe...