Novo Nordisk says semaglutide cut obesity rates in young children in trial
The phase 3 trial found semaglutide lowered BMI and met its primary endpoint, with safety consistent with adult and adolescent studies.
- On Monday, September 7, 2026, Novo Nordisk announced STEP Young phase 3 trial results showing 40.4% of children aged 6 to under 12 treated with semaglutide were no longer classified as having obesity after 68 weeks.
- The STEP Young trial enrolled 165 children aged 6 to under 12 to evaluate semaglutide alongside lifestyle modifications, including a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
- At baseline, more than 85% of children had class II or III severe obesity, while none of the children treated with placebo showed improvement in BMI classification after 68 weeks.
- Chief Scientific Officer Martin Holst Lange stated Novo Nordisk is encouraged by the results, noting semaglutide has "potential to help children living with obesity" manage the condition alongside lifestyle changes.
- Childhood obesity affected 177 million children in 2025 and tracks into adulthood with severe complications; prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs among United States children under 12 have risen more than 300-fold since 2019.
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Weight-loss drug trial reports kids given ingredient in Wegovy no longer obese
Novo Nordisk said on Monday that in a late-stage trial, 40.4 per cent of children aged 6 to under 12 treated with semaglutide, the active ingredient in its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, were no longer classified as having obesity after 68 weeks, assuming full adherence to the treatment.
Novo Nordisk says semaglutide cut obesity rates in young children in trial
Novo Nordisk's anti-obesity drug, Wegovy, resulted in a weight loss of 40 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 12 in a clinical trial that meant they were no longer considered obese by the end of treatment, Bloomberg reports.
Wegovy, a drug for the treatment of the obesity of the pharmacist Novo Nordisk, helped two in five young children to lose weight enough to stop being classified as obese in a new study. Today, the drug is approved only from the age of 12. 'I feel as if I were 39': At 101, a woman surprised by the routine while working, driving and dancing 'They move there in Barrettos and see my intestine here in RO on a screen', says retired submitted to the 1s…
Worldwide, the number of obese children is increasing. Novo Nordisk now provides first study data on the effects of semaglutide in childhood.
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