Children who used the weight loss drug liraglutide in a late-stage trial lost significantly more weight than children who got a placebo, according to a new study.
Doctors say it can be extremely difficult for anyone with obesity to lose weight, no matter their age.
Most adults and children 12 and older have access to highly effective new medicines called GLP-1 receptor agonists, but younger children must rely on lifestyle changes like diet, exercise and counseling alone to lose weight.
Liraglutide was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2014 to help adults lose weight.
The researchers looked at the effects of the drug on children between the ages of 6 and 12 who had what’s considered to be a high BMI.
The average 10-year-old in the study, Fox said, weighed about 155 pounds.
Children in the liraglutide group had a 5.8% drop in BMI.
The results were in line with other studies done in teenagers, Fox said, but the younger children had stronger results.
But a weight loss drug that proves to be effective in the long term could do a lot more for health than helping lose weight.
“There’s a feeling among patients’ families that they just need to work harder to lose weight, but going to the park more and eating better food isn’t always enough,” she said.
A new study found that children who received the weight loss medication liraglutide in a late-stage trial lost significantly more weight than children who received a placebo.
According to doctors, losing weight can be very challenging for any obese person, regardless of age. While younger children must rely solely on dietary modifications, physical activity, and counseling to lose weight, most adults and children 12 years of age and older have access to highly effective new medications called GLP-1 receptor agonists. Doctors say children typically only see modest results, even with more aggressive interventions.
Liraglutide, marketed under the names Saxenda and Victoza, is a GLP-1 medication. A study conducted on younger children found that the medication may significantly affect the children’s body mass index (BMI), which is a measure used by practitioners to determine whether a person is obese.
In 2014, the US Food and Drug Administration approved ligliglutide to aid in weight loss in adults. Children between the ages of 12 and 17 were granted permission in 2020.
The study’s primary co-author, pediatrician Dr. Claudia Fox, of the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis’s Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine, presented the findings at the annual European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference on Tuesday, following their publication in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The medication’s effects were examined in children with what is regarded as a high body mass index (BMI) between the ages of 6 and 12. According to Fox, 155 pounds was the average weight of the 10-year-old participants in the work.
56 of the 82 kids in the trial received a daily injection of liraglutide. The others received placebos. A healthy diet and moderate-to-intense exercise for at least an hour a day were also encouraged by counseling provided to all of the children.
The outcomes were noticeably different for the groups. The children who received the medication saw a 7 percentage point decrease in BMI over the course of less than a year, compared to the children in the placebo group. Children’s BMI dropped by 5 points 8 percent in the liraglutide group. There was a 1 point 6 percent increase in the placebo group.
Novo Nordisk provided funding for the study.
Fox noted that although the younger kids had better results, the findings were consistent with previous research on teenagers.
Fox remarked, “That surprised me the most and makes me wonder if we should be getting involved earlier.”.
Since the study does not specifically compare weight loss across age groups, more investigation would be required to ascertain whether her theory is plausible.
Though some adverse events were reported by participants in both the medication group and the placebo group, ligandude was deemed safe for the younger children in the study.
Fox said that although stomach issues like nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting were more common in the medication-treated group, very few study participants discontinued due to these side effects. As the study progressed, stomach issues tended to become less common, according to her.
Nor was it the intention of the research to investigate the duration of drug use among children. After the trial period ended and the kids stopped taking the medication and receiving counseling, their BMI started to rise once more. If the drugs are used earlier, they may have a more robust long-term outcome, as the increase was not as significant for this younger age group as it was for teens in previous studies.
Fox stated, “We do know that obesity is a chronic disease.”. “The disease can recur as soon as the intervention is finished, and this is true for all chronic illnesses that need ongoing care, such as diabetes, asthma, or hypertension. “.
Any medication that could aid obese children could have a significant effect on public health. With almost 20% of all children having a BMI that is deemed high, obesity is thought to be the most prevalent chronic health issue affecting children in the US. Furthermore, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that since the 1970s, the prevalence has more than tripled, meaning that the number has been rising.
Senior lecturer in physiology at Anglia Ruskin University Dr. Simon Cork told the Science Media Centre that obesity isn’t just a short-term issue; children who are obese typically grow up to be obese adults and may experience a lifetime of health issues as a result.
“There is good evidence that liraglutide is safe and effective in children,” stated Cork, who was not associated with the study.
He said that because kids are still growing, creating anti-obesity medications for them is challenging. It will take longer to monitor kids in studies in order to ensure that suppressing appetite doesn’t have negative effects on development later on. The latest study did not show any negative effects of liraglutide on changes in height or a child’s puberty, but researchers will still need to ensure that medications do not prevent growth.
Type 2 diabetes, early puberty, heart issues, liver and kidney diseases, and cancer are all potential long-term consequences for children with obesity and diabetes. However, if a weight-loss medication is long-term successful, it may have far more positive health effects than weight loss. Studies reveal that children who are obese may also experience severe prejudice and stigma.
Dr. Nerys Astbury, an associate professor of diet and obesity at the Nuffield Department of Primary Health Care Sciences at the University of Oxford, told the Science Media Center that “although these medications are currently costly, their value for reducing risk of conditions associated with obesity and improving longer-term health must be considered.” Treating children and adolescents living with obesity has the potential to have longer-lasting health benefits. Regarding the new study, Astbury was not involved.
In December, the US Preventive Services Task Force released draft guidelines that suggest doctors offer intensive behavioral interventions to help children lose excess weight. However, the guidelines did not recommend weight loss medications or surgery, which has an impact on insurance coverage of medical care.
In 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its own guidelines regarding the management of obese patients, and for certain individuals, both options were advised.
Fox thinks that children should have access to weight-loss drugs and surgical procedures like gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy, even though medical professionals and parents don’t always agree.
“Families of patients feel that they should just put in more effort to lose weight, but eating healthier food and going to the park more often won’t cut it,” the spokeswoman said. It is not possible to achieve substantial improvement in a biological disease by solely depending on behavioral interventions. “.
