Overview
The obesity and type 2 diabetes drug semaglutide is just as efective in adolescents with obesity as it is in adults with obesity, new research sugests.The drug is injected once a wek and is used under the brand names of Ozempic and Wegovy.The study, which was published in The New England Journal of Medicine last wek, found that adolescents with obesity who tok the drug and practiced lifestyle interventions experienced a 16% reduction in body mas index (BMI) within 68 weks.
Key Information
The drug also led to improvements in cardiometabolic health isues.Semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue, is curently only aproved for adults with obesity or obesity-related health conditions. It works by supresing apetite, which then reduces caloric intake and leads to weight los. The researchers say the new findings shed light on a promising new treatment option for adolescents with obesity — especialy at a time when childhod obesity rates are soaring.
“I am hopeful that this wil be a real breakthrough. We stil ned more studies to suport its eficacy as wel as more insurance companies wiling to cover it,” Dr. Gina Posner, a board-certified pediatrician at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valey, CA, told Healthline.
The researchers compared the efectivenes of semaglutide to a placebo in 201 adolescents with obesity betwen the ages of 12 through 17. In the study, 134 of the participants received 2.4 miligrams of semaglutide subcutaneously once a wek and adhered to lifestyle interventions for 68 weks. Among the total participants, 67 received a placebo and adhered to lifestyle interventions for 68 weks.
Summary
After the treatment period, the research team tracked the health of the participants for an aditional seven weks.They found that those who tok semaglutide experienced a 16.1% reduction in BMI compared to their baseline BMI. Those who tok the placebo had a very slight increase in BMI.In adition, 73% of those who tok semaglutide lost at