As the recognition of GLP-1 medicines to help weight reduction in adults surges, it’s not stunning that there’s additionally been a spike within the use of these drugs in teens.
Prescriptions of the GLP-1 drug Wegovy for teenagers had been up 50 % final yr, in response to a evaluate launched earlier this month from health data firm Truveta in collaboration with Reuters.
The corporate reviewed well being information of 1.3 million youngsters ages 12 to 17 throughout 30 well being techniques within the U.S., together with over 900 hospitals. The typical fee of first-time prescriptions was 15 in each 100,000 teenagers in 2024, up from 9.9 in 2023. (The evaluate didn’t embody GLP-1 medication Ozempic or Zepbound as these medicines usually are not FDA-approved to be used in teenagers.)
Regardless of the bounce within the variety of teens being prescribed Wegovy, it nonetheless represents solely a small fraction of youngsters who’re dwelling with obesity. Roughly one in 5 youngsters and youths within the U.S. are thought of overweight, according to the CDC. Meaning they’ve a physique mass index (BMI) at or above the ninety fifth percentile for his or her age and intercourse.
And this quantity could also be on the rise: As many as a 3rd of all youngsters and youths globally could also be chubby or overweight by 2050, in response to a current evaluation in The Lancet.
How Wegovy Works
Wegovy is a model title for the injected treatment semaglutide. It’s a sort of GLP-1 drug—also referred to as a glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist—that may assist management blood sugar in folks with Kind-2 diabetes and assist deal with weight problems.
Within the physique, it really works equally to the small gut hormone GLP-1: It will probably sluggish digestion, assist you to really feel full, and restrict the quantity of blood sugar in your bloodstream. The FDA approved Wegovy to deal with weight problems in youngsters 12 and over in 2022. Widespread unwanted effects embody GI points like nausea, diarrhea, or abdomen ache.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) helps using weight-loss medicines as a therapy choice for youngsters 12 and over who’re thought of overweight, with a BMI that’s at or over the ninety fifth percentile, and who might have associated well being points. Weight problems is related to a better threat of well being situations together with diabetes, hypertension, and bronchial asthma. Teenagers dwelling with weight problems are additionally extra prone to be overweight as adults.
“A number of the medicines have been transformative to sufferers. With semaglutide, we’re seeing fairly substantial physique mass index (BMI) discount like we’ve by no means seen earlier than,” Claudia Fox, M.D., M.P.H., co-director and fellowship program director on the Middle for Pediatric Weight problems Medication on the College of Minnesota Medical College stated in AAP News final yr.
Entry to those medicines will be a difficulty, nonetheless, as insurance coverage might not cowl the associated fee, and plenty of households don’t have complete well being protection. There’s additionally the priority that these are comparatively new medicines and attainable long-term results aren’t but recognized.
What To Know About Weight-Loss Drugs for Teenagers
Should you’re involved about your teen’s weight, speak to your youngster’s well being care supplier. There are a number of life-style modifications to discover earlier than a GLP-1 or different sort of weight-loss treatment, comparable to a more healthy weight loss program and elevated bodily exercise.
GLP-1 medication are typically solely advisable for teenagers who’ve extreme weight problems, and are advisable to be used along with wholesome modifications to weight loss program and train. It’s additionally essential to make sure your youngster is getting sufficient sleep and to know in case your youngster’s weight is perhaps compounded by a psychological well being problem such as anxiety or despair. However for teenagers with weight problems who haven’t been capable of drop some pounds by means of different strategies, treatment often is the proper alternative.
“When younger sufferers with weight problems use these medicines and expertise efficient weight reduction, it has a big impression on their lives,” Vibha Singhal, MD, MPH, DABOM, director of Pediatric Weight problems at UCLA Mattel Kids’s Hospital and affiliate professor of Pediatrics at UCLA David Geffen College of Medication, stated in UCLA Health News. “They’re more healthy, can transfer extra rapidly, are extra motivated to make wholesome life-style modifications…and total are extra assured.”
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