The WHO said that in 2024, some 70 million children aged five to nine were obese, as were 100 million adolescents aged 10 to 19 worldwide. (AFP pic)

GENEVA: Medicine and surgery are not the answer for overweight children, the World Health Organization said Thursday.

Releasing its first guidelines addressing the sharp rise in obesity among children and adolescents, the WHO instead strongly recommended structured diets, physical activity, and behaviour changes.

"WHO does not recommend pharmacological treatment, bariatric surgery (surgery that changes the stomach or digestive tract) or weight-loss devices for children aged 0-9 years," it said.

"For adolescents aged 10-19 years, treatment with approved medicines may be considered only when a supervised multimodal lifestyle programme has not achieved the desired results.