The number of American children being prescribed GLP-1 weight-loss drugs has surged dramatically over the past few years, fueling debate over whether doctors are medicating childhood obesity instead of preventing it, according to new research.
A recent study led by researchers at NYU Langone Health found prescriptions of Saxenda, Wegovy and Zepbound for children ages 8 to 11 rose 310-fold from 0.03% in 2019 to 9.3% in 2026.
Researchers said 20,282 children in that age group were prescribed the drugs in 7.5 years — still a small fraction of the more than 3.5 million children studied, but a fast-accelerating one.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved GLP-1 drugs for children under 12, but doctors prescribe them off-label for extreme cases.
We ‘need more long-term data in children,’ physician says
Babak J. Orandi, M.D., Ph.D., the study’s lead investigator and an obesity medicine specialist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said the research offers the first national look at how GLP-1 drugs are being used in young children amid the broader obesity epidemic.
Roughly 20% of U.S. children are obese, he said, and that underlying trend is what worries him most.
“My biggest concern is upstream of any medication: Nearly 1 in 5 children this age has obesity, and that’s what’s really driving this,” Orandi told The Defender.
He added:
“Medication can help an individual child, but it doesn’t address why so many children are developing severe obesity in the first place. I’d like to see real investment in the food environment kids grow up in, with less reliance on ultra-processed food, better food access and affordability, less screen time and more opportunity for physical activity, and support for families trying to build healthier routines at home.
“Treating more children with medication while leaving that environment unchanged just means we’ll keep producing more children who need treatment.”
Orandi said the drugs can be effective for treating obesity and related health problems, and that forgoing treatment carries its own long-term risks, including a higher chance of developing chronic disease later in life.
Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity physician-scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, agreed.
Hellbound and Down 