Writing in STAT, transplant surgeon and obesity medicine specialist Babak J. Orandi of NYU Langone reports that prescriptions for GLP-1 receptor agonists in U.S. children ages 8-11 with obesity rose 310-fold since 2019. The drugs are approved for adolescents 12 and older, but not for younger children.
The analysis, based on more than 3.5 million children with obesity in that age range, found that only 0.6% received a GLP-1 prescription. Among those who did, 94% had severe obesity. Orandi says this suggests clinicians are reserving the drugs for children already showing complications such as sleep apnea, prediabetes, or fatty liver disease.
Orandi argues that FDA approval for younger children could expand insurance coverage and reduce disparities, but also carries a risk of broader use in less severe cases before long-term effects on growth and puberty are known. He rejects the idea that treating children and fixing the food environment are competing priorities, and calls for policies such as taxing sugary drinks and improving school nutrition alongside evidence-based treatment.