GLP-1 use among young children with obesity in US remains rare but is rising rapidly

Childhood obesity prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs surge in the U.S.

Although the number of US children under age 12 with obesity being prescribed the weight loss drugs Saxenda, Wegovy, and Zepbound remains low, the number is 310 times higher in June 2026 than it was in 2019, when the drugs were initially prescribed, a new study shows.

More kids age 8 to 11 are being prescribed weight loss drugs: study

Prescriptions for the drugs are on the rise in part because of how they work. They can help kids who need it shed up to 16% of their body weight, but it raises the obvious question: How will it affect them in the long term?

GLP-1 use in US kids under-12 soars - even without FDA approval

One in five children suffers from obesity, a chronic condition leaving them at greater risk of cancer and heart disease

GLP-1 use among young children with obesity in US remains rare but is rising rapidly

Although the number of U.S. children under age 12 with obesity who are prescribed the weight-loss drugs Saxenda, Wegovy and Zepbound remains low, it was 310 times higher in June 2026 than in 2019, when the drugs were first prescribed, a new study shows.