Fat jabs ARE safe for kids and could be given to thousands of obese youngsters, review suggests

OBESE kids as young as six could benefit from taking weight-loss jabs, promising new research suggests. Specialist NHS clinics are already able to give the drugs, known medically as GLP-1 medications, to obese under-18s under limited circumstances. Latest figures suggest that around 400 schoolchildren have been given the jabs on the NHS Credit: Getty These include having serious health complications as a result of their weight, and all other interventions have failed. Latest figures suggest that around 400 schoolchildren over the age of 11 have already been prescribed the powerful jabs like Mounjaro or Wegovy on the NHS. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! But, a new review by Canadian scientists has found that the drugs could help thousands more children as young as six with obesity who do not have diabetes. The jabs could slash high blood pressure and improve quality of life, they found. READ MORE ON WEIGHT LOSS JABS However, they also discovered that a common side effect of the drug, nausea, was significantly more common among youngsters given the jab. In the new study, the scientists carried out a review and meta-analysis of nine studies involving more than 750 youngsters aged six to 18. They had been prescribed a weight loss jab for at least six months and had an average age of 14. The jabs included semaglutide – the main ingredient behind Wegovy and Ozempic – and liraglutide, sold as Saxenda in the UK. Most read in Health They discovered kids on the jabs lost roughly 5kg on average, with semaglutide proving the most effective, with kids losing roughly 17.75kg. Children treated with GLP-1s also saw their average systolic blood pressure – the top number on a blood pressure reading – fall 2.24 mmHg. In the three studies assessing heart rate, kids on the jabs also experienced an average drop of 2.83 beats per minute. Kids on the jabs saw quality of life scores increase, the researchers added. The only significant safety concern was increased nausea risk – three times higher than children given placebo. Dr Manpreet Kaur Oberoi, an expert in adverse drug reactions at the University of Western Ontario and study co-author, said: “To our knowledge, this is the first study to report on changes in heart rate and quality of life scores for children treated with GLP-1s. Scientists discovered that kids on the jabs lost roughly 5kg on average, with semaglutide proving the most effective Credit: Alamy More obese children than starving globally CHILDREN'S charity Unicef revealed in 2024 that the world has more obese children than starving ones for the first time. Obesity rates have rocketed this century while the number of malnourished youngsters and teenagers has dropped. The proportion of five to 19-year-olds rated dangerously overweight has more than tripled from three per cent to 9.4 per cent since 2000. It means one child in every ten globally is obese. In Britain, the rate is higher at one in seven. The highest rate is in the Pacific Islands, at one in three. In comparison, the underweight rate has fallen from 13 to 9.2 per cent in the last 25 years, data from 190 countries reveals. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the only parts of the world where kids are more likely to be starving than over-fed. Catherine Russell, director of New York-based Unicef, said: “When we talk about malnutrition, we’re no longer just talking about underweight children.” “Larger, longer-term trials are needed to confirm sustained efficacy, optimise dosing strategies, evaluate long-term safety, and more thoroughly assess patient-reported outcomes quality of life outcomes.” The study will be presented in full at the International Congress on Obesity in Mexico City. Childhood obesity has been a growing issue for years, with easy access to fast food, more screen time and sedentary lifestyles blamed for spiralling rates in some parts of the UK. Latest NHS figures suggest that almost a quarter of children in reception and over a third in Year 6 were classed as obese or overweight in 2024/25. It comes as the World Health Organization last year also revealed 37million children under the age of five are now overweight globally — four million more than at the turn of the century. Britain was 22nd (11.3 per cent), while the US claimed 52nd spot (7.9 per cent). Roughly 1.5 million people in the UK are believed to be taking jabs including Mounjaro and Wegovy for obesity. The drugs are mainly used to control blood sugar levels, but they also reduce food cravings and, as a result, can cause rapid weight loss. Comment now