The World Health Organization on Monday recommended GLP-1 drugs as a tool to manage obesity in adults, marking a shift in the way the U.N. agency has historically framed obesity treatment.

The WHO said that GLP-1 drugs can be part of a long-term treatment strategy that combines medication with counseling on healthy diets and physical activity. Previous WHO recommendations focused on the latter.

WHO officials published the guidelines Monday in the medical journal JAMA, defining long-term use as continuous treatment for six months or more.

“GLP-1 therapies mark more than a scientific breakthrough,” the officials wrote. “They represent a new chapter in the gradual conceptual shift in how society approaches obesity — from a ‘lifestyle condition’ to a complex, preventable, and treatable

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