GLP-1 prescribing in children: overview
- GLP-1 prescribing among US children with obesity aged 8-11 rose by almost 31,000% between 2019 and 2026
- Use in young children still remains relatively low
- Rising childhood GLP-1 use could influence family food choices and purchasing habits
- European uptake in adolescents is growing, with Danish use among 12-24-year-olds rising since 2018
- Experts expect prescriptions to keep increasing, though GLP-1s are not viewed as a standalone solution to childhood obesity
GLP-1 prescribing in children aged 8-11 without diabetes and with obesity increased from 0.03% in 2019 to 9.3% in 2026, a 310-fold increase, according to a new US study published in the journal Pediatrics.
Though only two GLP-1s are licensed for use in children 12 and older (Wegovy and Saxenda), clinical practice guidelines for paediatric obesity management allow for consideration of GLP-1s in children ages 8–11.
The US leads the way in GLP-1 use and, while it has a different regulatory landscape, the European food and beverage industry should be always be looking at what is happening there to prepare for what may follow in Europe.
Early evidence shows that when people take GLP-1s, their partners and children begin to eat differently too. Greater use in young people could lead to further changes in family purchasing habits and a change in what young people purchase themselves.
The global reach of GLP-1s continues to widen as oral GLP-1s make them more accessible, the benefits of both the pills and injectables begin to expand weight loss, and stigma around their use decreases.
Although prescriptions of the three GLP-1s in this study – Saxenda (liraglutide), Wegovy (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide) – reached 0.6% of the more than 3.5 million children in the study, it is still a significant increase.
“I do think this trend is likely to continue upward, at least in the near term,” says Professor Bambak Orandi, associate professor of surgery and medicine at NYU Langone Health and lead author of the study. “The data show a consistent, statistically significant rise every year of the study period, and there’s no obvious reason for that trajectory to reverse given growing clinical experience and expanding indications.”
The study found that children with high cardiometabolic risk were the most likely to receive the drugs from clinicians and those from higher income brackets were more likely to access them.
This comes after use in adolescents had already seen a rise.
The proportion of US adolescents who were prescribed obesity medications increased in 2023 by approximately 300% compared with 2020. Saxenda was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to include adolescents in 2020 and Wegovy in 2022.
What’s the situation in Europe?
In Europe, Saxenda was approved for 12-17 year olds who meet certain criteria by the European Medicines Agency in 2018. Wegovy was later approved for the same group in 2023. They are usually used in children with severe obesity or comorbidities. Both are injectables; the available oral GLP-1s are only licensed for 18 and over.
Data on prescribing is more limited than the US but is starting to emerge. For example, a 2026 study showed that in Danish 12- to 24-year-olds, GLP-1 use increased by more than 50 times between January 2018 and December 2025.
According to the World Health Organization, one in 10 (11%) European children aged 7–9 live with obesity. In several southern European countries, nearly one in five were living with obesity.
What is the evidence on GLP-1s in children and adolescents?
GLP-1s are still more rarely used in the younger age groups and are given off-licence under the supervision of specialist doctors, but the evidence is building.
A recent meta-analysis presented at the 2026 International Congress on Obesity found GLP-1s for weight loss in children of various ages without diabetes are safe and effective. It included trials in the US, Germany, Sweden, Austria, and international consortia. The mean age was 14–15, but the age range across all studies was six–17.
And a small 2024 study showed that among children aged 6-12 with obesity, treatment with liraglutide for 56 weeks plus lifestyle interventions resulted in a greater reduction in BMI than placebo plus lifestyle interventions. Further research is needed in this age group.
A 2025 meta-analysis of 18 trials found that GLP-1s significantly improved glycaemic, weight, and cardiometabolic outcomes in children and adolescents under 18 with type 2 diabetes or obesity.
Zepbound in the US is not yet licensed for under 18s, but SURMOUNT-ADOLESCENTS trial and the SURMOUNT-ADOLESCENTS-2 are studying its safety.
The future
With obesity now a pandemic, there is a huge healthcare burden that comes with that and children and adolescents are included. It’s forecast that between 2021 and 2050, the global prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents will increase by 120.7%.
GLP-1s could well be part of the solution, and they’re “gaining attention in pediatric populations”, according to a 2026 study, though “psychosocial dimensions, including stigma, mental health risks, and potential disordered eating, together with economic barriers and disparities in access, require careful consideration and efforts to be overcome”.
“For individual patients, GLP-1s, in concert with lifestyle intervention, can certainly be effective in treating childhood obesity, particularly those with complications of obesity,” says Professor Orandi. “However, I do not consider GLP-1s as the answer to childhood obesity. This will require a whole-of-society effort that addresses many drivers at the individual and societal level.”
