A new study shows that the weight-loss drug liraglutide can help obese children reduce their BMI and achieve a healthier weight. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting in Madrid, this research is the first to assess liraglutide (Saxenda) in children aged 6 to 11.
“These results offer significant hope to children struggling with obesity,” said Dr. Claudia Fox, co-director of the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota. “Until now, treatment options for young children have been extremely limited, often focusing solely on diet and exercise. With medication targeting the underlying biology of obesity, there’s a real chance for these children to improve their health and quality of life.”
While older children and adults can use newer weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound, younger kids have traditionally been limited to lifestyle changes, making effective intervention critical. Dr. Fox emphasized that without treatment, childhood obesity frequently persists into adulthood, raising the risk of serious health issues like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Though approved for adults in 2014 and for teens in 2020, this latest study explored liraglutide’s effects on children ages 6 to 11 with high BMI, where the average 10-year-old weighed about 155 pounds. Of the 82 participants, 56 received daily liraglutide injections alongside counseling on diet and exercise, while the rest received a placebo.
Over roughly a year, the BMI of children on liraglutide dropped by 5.8%, compared to a 1.6% increase in the placebo group, showing a 7.4 percentage point difference between the two. Although there’s no consensus on what constitutes a meaningful BMI reduction in children, previous research indicates that a 5% decrease can lead to improvements in obesity-related health conditions.
Despite the drug’s safety for young children, side effects like nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting were reported more often in the liraglutide group, but symptoms usually subsided over time. Notably, BMI tended to rise again once the medication was stopped.
Experts suggest that liraglutide could be a valuable option for young patients with obesity. However, they caution that the potential long-term impact on growth must be studied further. “Developing anti-obesity drugs for children is complex due to their active growth phase, and appetite suppression could pose risks,” said Simon Cork, a senior lecturer in physiology at Anglia Ruskin University. Nevertheless, evidence that liraglutide is safe and effective in children is promising, though longer-term studies are needed to assess potential impacts on development.