Obesity Drug Semaglutide Helps Teens Lose Weight, Study Shows

According to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, semaglutide, a drug approved for adults with obesity, also helps teens shed pounds and have healthier hearts in the process.

Overweight adolescents, who received once-weekly semaglutide compared to placebo in an international phase 3a clinical trial, had a 16.1 percent decrease in their body mass index (BMI). The BMI of participants who took a placebo rose by 0.6 percent.

Senior author Silva Arslanian, M.D., professor of pediatrics and clinical and translational science at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said that rates of obesity are increasing, not just in the United States but all over the world.

Teens need safe and effective medications to treat their obesity

Arslanian, who also holds the Richard L. Day Endowed Chair in Pediatrics at the university, said that they typically make lifestyle recommendations such as eating more vegetables, not eating fried food, and don't drink soda. He said that, unfortunately, they live in a very obesogenic environment, so it can be tough for them to make those changes.

Arslanian said there is a real need for safe and effective medications to treat obesity, MedicalXpress reported. He may have found the answer to that problem with semaglutide. It is an obesity drug that mimics the glucagon-like peptide-1 hormone to target parts of the brain that improve control of eating and decrease appetite. This particular drug was approved for chronic weight management in adults with obesity last year.

Researchers enrolled 201 overweight adolescents between 12 and 18 across multiple centers to assess whether semaglutide is also effective among youths. The said participants received either a placebo or subcutaneous injections of semaglutide 2.4 mg once a week.

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Obesity is a growing problem for young people worldwide

The participants in the study, presented at Obesity Week 2022, all received concurrent lifestyle intervention. They got counseling on healthy nutrition and physical activity throughout the trial. After 68 weeks of the trial, 72.5 percent of semaglutide participants had achieved at least 5 percent weight loss compared to just 17 percent of participants on placebo.

Arslanian said the results were amazing. He noted that for a person who weighs 240 pounds and is 5 foot, 5 inches tall, the average reduction in BMI is equivalent to them shedding about 40 pounds.

Obesity is a growing problem, affecting almost one in five kids and adolescents worldwide. This chronic disease is linked with decreased life expectancy and a higher risk of developing serious health problems such as heart disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and sleep apnea. Teens with obesity are also more likely to have anxiety, poor self-esteem, depression, and other psychological issues.

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