GLP-1 drug prescriptions for children under 12 surge 300-fold

American kids under-12 are now taking GLP-1 drugs to fight obesity at 300 times the rate of seven years ago, according to major new study released today.

More than 20,000 children, aged 8-11, have taken the drugs since 2019 - a 9 percent rise, according to analysis of 300 million electronic medical records.

One in five children, aged two to 17, is obese in the U.S., leaving them at higher risk of cancer and heart disease.

Some 260 million Americans are expected to be obese or overweight by 2050, although doctors say the widespread uptake of weight loss drugs could lower those projections.

“The careful use of GLP-1s remains a valuable tool in confronting the obesity epidemic among young Americans,” obesity medicine specialist Dr, Babak Orandi, an associate professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said in a statement.

At present, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not approve any GLP-1s for children under 12. The FDA approves two GLP-1s - Novo Nordisk’s Saxenda and Eli Lilly’s Wegovy - for children aged 12 to 17 years old.

However doctors have been using their discretion to prescribe GLP-1s to under-12s, which is not illegal. General medical clinical guidelines allow the use of the GLP-1s in children as young as 8.

Most kids who were prescribed the drugs had severe obesity and experienced at least one illness tied to the disease, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, according to the NYU study. Girls, who experience higher obesity rates, are more likely to be prescribed the drugs.

“We’re really tailoring it to the individual person and the family, but this is not a mainstream practice,” NYU Langone Health endocrinologist Dr. Rachel Pessah-Pollack, who was not involved in the research, told CBS Mornings in June. “This is for somebody that’s really significantly affected by their weight.”

Experts also say that the benefits of the drugs may outweigh current risks, stopping children from developing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and liver disease.

Opinions have been split about prescribing the drugs to young kids. Doctors don’t yet have long-term data to better understand how the drugs impact young kids and teens, which the NYU Langone researchers acknowledge.

Clinical trials are underway to test GLP-1 use in children with obesity as young as six, Orandi said. A separate 2024 study from the University of Minnesota showed the medication Saxenda was safe and effective for use at that young age.

Doctors have a responsibility to ensure all young children with obesity who need the drugs have access to them, study co-senior author Dr. Allan Massie, an associate professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said.