Prescriptions for GLP-1 weight-loss medicines among U.S. children aged eight to 11 have increased more than 300-fold since 2019, highlighting both the growing burden of childhood obesity and the debate over how early these drugs should be used.
A study published in the publication Pediatrics found that the proportion of children with obesity receiving GLP-1 drugs rose from just 0.03 per cent in 2019 to 9.3 per cent by June this year.
More than 20,000 children received the medicines during the study period, with Wegovy, made by Novo Nordisk, the most commonly prescribed. Doctors also prescribed Novo Nordisk's Saxenda and Eli Lilly's Zepbound.
The researchers examined health records covering more than 3.5 million children aged eight to 11 to see who had obesity but no diabetes, which is what the drug was originally designed for.
The vast majority of those given GLP-1 drugs – around 94 per cent – had severe obesity, while about two-thirds had another condition linked to obesity, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure or sleep apnoea.
Dr. Babak Orandi, an obesity specialist at NYU Langone Health and the study's lead investigator, said the scale of the increase had caught him off guard.
“I just wasn't expecting the increase to be quite this dramatic,” he said.
GLP-1 medicines are not currently approved by U.S. regulators specifically for weight management in children under 12. However, clinical guidelines can support their use in children as young as eight in certain circumstances.
The rapid increase does not mean large numbers of young children are taking the drugs, researchers stressed. But the trend is accelerating quickly, raising questions about what is known – and what is still uncertain – about their long-term use in children.
Clinical trials are under way, but Orandi urged caution while evidence continues to develop.
“I think it's important to have a healthy degree of skepticism.”
He compared the situation with a lesson he was taught in medical school: doctors and patients should be wary of being the first to use a new medicine before its risks and benefits are fully understood.
At the same time, Orandi said the health risks associated with severe childhood obesity are already well established.
“The long-term ramifications of childhood obesity are pretty severe.”
The study found a significant difference in access based on where children lived. Those in higher-income communities were 55 per cent more likely to receive GLP-1 treatment, even though obesity rates are often higher in lower-income communities.
Allan Massie, a co-author of the study and associate professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said access to the medicines should not be limited to families with better insurance or greater financial means.
“Physicians and health policymakers alike have a responsibility to ensure ... these valuable and sometimes costly treatments become available to more than those who have access to health insurance and can afford to visit paediatric clinics.”
GLP-1 medicines, which can reduce appetite and help regulate blood sugar, have transformed the treatment of obesity in adults and older children. Their growing use in younger children, however, remains an emerging area of medicine.
The researchers stressed that medication alone is not enough. Treatment for childhood obesity should also involve changes to diet, physical activity and other aspects of a child's lifestyle.
As more clinical trial data emerges, doctors will have a clearer picture of whether the benefits of GLP-1 treatment for younger children outweigh the potential long-term risks.
For now, the sharp rise in prescriptions reflects a difficult balancing act: finding effective treatment for children facing serious health consequences from obesity while ensuring that medicines used at such a young age are proven safe over the long term.
For decades, Uzbekistan’s cotton industry was primarily associated with the production and harvesting of ...
Leaders from around the world are gathering in New York for the latest session of the United Nations General Assembly, with conflicts in Ukraine an...
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal has it is shutting production at Ukraine's largest steel plant, underscoring the grow...
Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan will hold an urgent high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis. The meeting comes as Tehran seeks to distance itself from the rapid advance of its Houthi allies.
World leaders return to the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday for the fourth day of the high-level General Debate, with speeches and diplomatic meetings continuing throughout the day.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday, 24 September, for talks focused on trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and the war with Iran.
Finland and Sweden deployed fighter aircraft on Thursday after a group of Russian military planes was detected over the Gulf of Finland, the Finnish Air Force reported on Friday (25 September).
Fourteen Kazakh military personnel died after being swept out to sea during a naval training exercise in the western Mangistau region, authorities said on Thursday.
Chinese researchers have developed the world’s smallest CT scanner, a portable device designed to produce images of tiny fossils and archaeological relics.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 17 September 2026. These are the top five stories making headlines in the field of health.
Doctors in St. Louis have successfully separated Ethiopian two-year-old twin girls who were born joined at the head after a months-long series of complex operations culminating in a nearly 25-hour final procedure, doctors said on Wednesday.
Tobacco use may significantly reduce fertility in both men and women, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) publication that highlights growing evidence linking smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke with reproductive health problems.
A record-breaking heatwave that swept across western Europe in late June has been linked to more than 10,000 excess deaths, according to newly released mortality data, highlighting the growing human toll of extreme temperatures across the continent.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment