CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — While weight-loss medications are not new to the scene, you don't often hear about children taking the drugs. However, trial and research studies from the New England Journal of Medicine show that children as young as six years old could be amongst the patients prescribed the weight-loss drug liraglutide.
This could be the first time that obese children ages 6 to 11 in the United States have additional help to managing a healthy weight.
"I do believe the weight-loss drugs have a purpose, but obviously -- ideally -- we would change our environments so that children would not become that morbidly obese in the first place," Driscoll Endocrinology Department Director Dr. Ana Maria Paez said.
Children often struggle with maintaining a healthy lifestyle due to food options in the household.
"A lot of our children in our community like here in South Texas, have a lot of food insecurity," Paez said.
She also said that for children, most weight gain occurs in the summer.
"During the summer, we see a lot of these children gain weight because their access to healthy food is limited" said Paez.
Since 20 percent of youth age 6 to 11 in the U.S. are obese, many companies are starting to focus on this age range.
"Saxenda [a brand of liraglutide], that has gone through some trials," Amistad Community Health Center Dr. Eric Baggerman said. "They are now going to be asking for approval from the FDA and from similar organizations and other countries to get it approved to be used in children."
That drug can currently be prescribed patients 12 and up, but if it's approved, kids as young as six years old would be able to use it.
"As these drugs come out, we don't want to lose sight of the fact that eating right, sleeping right and exercising is important for all kinds of reasons that we don't want to lose," he said.
When children are over their anticipated weight, that predisposes them to chronic diseases like diabetes, but even with a weight-loss drug, the most effective results are seen when the individual plays their part as well.
"As you will see on all these medications, it's part of a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle that make them work," Baggerman said.