Children between six and 11 on liraglutide were found to have lost significantly more weight than their counterparts on a placebo, according to a study published this month
A bombshell study has claimed a weight loss drug “is effective’ for children as young as six years old who are struggling with obesity.
Liraglutide, sold under the brand name Saxenda and Victoza, was found to have lowered the body mass, also known as BMI, and overall improved the health indicators in obese children aged six to 11, according to a September 10 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The trial study, led by Dr Claudia Fox, of the Center for Pediatric Obesity at the Medicine School at the University of Minnesota, said 82 children were randomly given one daily dose of liraglutide or a placebo, plus lifestyle interventions.
Researchers examined children over a 56-week treatment period as well as a 26-week follow-up period. The children then had the percentage change in their body checked mass to find if there had been any significant change.
While adults and adolescents with obesity have lost weight after taking liraglutide, researchers have not officially established its safety and efficacy in children. The study added no medications in the US are currently approved for certain types of obesity in children younger than 12.
The National Child Measurement Programme, published by NHS Digital, found that 10.1 per cent of children aged four to five in England were obese in 2021/22 with another 12.1 per cent being classed as overweight. At ages 10 to 11, an estimated 23.4 per cent were found to be obese and 14.3 per cent overweight.
“To date, children have had virtually no options for treating obesity,” said Dr Fox, as reported by the Associated Press. “They have been told to ‘try harder’ with diet and exercise.”
The study, funded by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, concluded that for children who underwent treatment with liraglutide for 56 weeks as well as lifestyle interventions “resulted in a greater reduction in BMI than placebo plus lifestyle interventions.”
Researchers found children who took liraglutide `by about 5.8 per cent, while those who had the placebo saw their BMI increase by 1.6 per cent. The study also found that an estimated 46 per cent of children who took the weight loss drug lowered their BMI by about 5 per cent. Fewer than 9 per cent of children who received the placebo managed a similar result, according to the study.
But there were side effects that saw recipients of liraglutide suffer instances of nausea and vomiting more than with the placebo. More serious adverse “events” were also reported in 7 participants taking liraglutide and two children taking the placebo.
Researchers said doctors and parents needed to consider the risks and also the lack of the data regarding the long-term use of weight loss drugs in young children.