Vienna – (dpa)
The World Health Organization has warned that weight loss injections, while beneficial, will not solve the global obesity crisis alone.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in Geneva on Monday: “Let me be clear: treatment alone will not solve the obesity crisis.”
The World Health Organization has approved the use of so-called “GLP-1 receptor agonists,” but warns against excessive reliance on them. The WHO guidelines cover the active ingredients liraglutide, semaglutide, and tirzepatide. These ingredients are found, for example, in the drugs “Saxenda,” “Wejovi,” and “Monjaro,” which are used to treat obesity.
The guidelines stipulate that the three active ingredients can be used to treat obesity in adults, but not in pregnant women, and the organization stressed that a healthy lifestyle should be part of any treatment.
“It is very important that the use of GLP-1 does not replace the need for a healthy diet or physical activity,” Tedros said.
