Published: 8 October 2026 | WHO guideline date: 7 October 2026
At a Glance
- WHO has issued its first global guidelines for integrated management of obesity in children and adolescents.
- The child guideline covers ages from 29 days to under 10 years; the adolescent guideline covers ages 10–19 years.
- Recommendations address diet, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep, behavioural interventions, digital health, pharmacotherapy, bariatric surgery and multimodal care.
- WHO emphasizes people-centred, primary-care-based management rather than stigma or blame.
Why this matters
WHO estimates that in 2024 about 400 million children and adolescents aged 5–19 years were overweight, including 170 million living with obesity. Obesity in this age group has risen sharply since 1990 and is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other long-term complications.
What the new guidance covers
The guidelines support integrated care pathways rather than a single intervention. They consider nutrition, physical activity, sleep, behaviour change, digital support, medicines, bariatric surgery and weight-management devices where appropriate.
Clinical takeaway
Management should be individualized, age-appropriate and family-centred. Decisions around pharmacotherapy or surgery require specialist assessment and should not be extrapolated from adult practice without pediatric/adolescent guidance.
India relevance
For India, the guidance is relevant to pediatric, adolescent-health, school-health and primary-care programmes. Local adaptation should consider Indian growth standards, nutrition patterns, access to specialists and availability or approval status of medicines and procedures.
Official Sources
WHO guideline — integrated management of obesity in children
WHO guideline — integrated management of obesity in adolescents
MedBodh note: This is a guideline summary for education. Individual treatment should follow current pediatric/adolescent clinical guidance and patient-specific assessment.