The medication liraglutid from Novo Nordisk has now been tested on children. The medication affects, similar to semaglutid, which is found in the well-known Ozempic, among other things, appetite and feelings of satiety in patients.
In the study, which was financed by Novo Nordisk and published in the journal New England Journal of Medicine, 82 overweight children between the ages of six and eleven were randomly assigned to receive liraglutid or a placebo, i.e., an ineffective treatment. The children had an average BMI of 31. All received advice on physical activity of at least one hour a day and on eating a healthy diet.
Lost weight
When the children were followed up after approximately 13 months of treatment, those who received the medication had on average reduced their BMI by 5.8 percent. Those who received the placebo had reduced their BMI by 1.6 percent. Reducing BMI by at least 5 percent is linked to a reduced risk of various health problems that often come with overweight and obesity, the researchers write.
Side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting were more common among those who received the medication than in the placebo group. Semaglutid is currently approved under the names Saxenda and Victoza and is given to adults and children over twelve years old for weight loss.
More young people get
To have a medication for this age group, if it becomes approved, would be very good, but we will need to be very cautious about the extent to which we give it, says Melissa Crocker, a specialist on childhood obesity who was not involved in the study, to AP.
According to a review conducted by Läkemedelsvärlden, the use of semaglutid and liraglutid has increased sharply in recent years. In 2019, 40 children and young people were treated with one of these medications, and in 2023, the figure was 847.
