GLP-1 Prescribing in Young Children With Obesity Rises 310-Fold

The share of children aged 8 to 11 years with obesity who were prescribed glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists rose 310-fold between January 2019 and June 2026, even though absolute use remains low, according to a study published in Pediatrics.¹

Prescribing Climbs From Near Zero

Researchers used Epic Cosmos, a national electronic health record dataset covering more than 300 million patients across 2067 hospitals and 47,100 clinics, to track GLP-1 prescriptions among children aged 8 to 11 years with obesity but without diabetes.² The proportion of these children prescribed liraglutide (Saxenda; Novo Nordisk), semaglutide (Wegovy; Novo Nordisk), or tirzepatide (Zepbound; Eli Lilly) rose from 0.03% in 2019 to 9.3% in 2026, a 310-fold increase over 7.5 years (P < .001).^1,2 In total, 20,282 children aged 8 to 11 received a GLP-1 prescription during that span.²

About 20% of US children have obesity, defined as a body mass index above the 95th percentile for age and sex, without a diabetes diagnosis. Even so, prescribing remained less common among children aged 8 to 11 years (0.6%) than among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years (0.9%), despite clinical guidelines permitting use starting at age 8. Prescribing prevalence was higher among girls than among boys (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] = 2.05), among adolescents aged 15-17 years than among those aged 12-14 years (aPR = 2.24), and among those with severe (class 2 or class 3) obesity than among those with class 1 obesity (aPR = 4.03 and 12.78, respectively).¹

Severe Obesity and Comorbidities Drive Use

Among children prescribed GLP-1s, 93.7% had severe obesity and 65.2% had at least 1 obesity-related comorbidity, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or sleep apnea. A quarter were prediabetic, putting them at high risk for the most common disease linked to obesity.

“Our study offers the first national overview in young children of the use of GLP-1 drugs to fight the obesity epidemic in the United States and shows that while the absolute numbers of children under the age of 12 receiving GLP-1 treatment is still low, GLP-1 use is accelerating rapidly,” said lead investigator Babak J. Orandi, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the departments of Surgery and Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, in a statement.² “The careful use of GLP-1s remains a valuable tool in confronting the obesity epidemic among young Americans.”

Access Gaps Emerge Alongside Growth

Children in upper-income communities were 55% more likely to be prescribed a GLP-1 than those in lower-income communities. Co–senior author Allan B. Massie, PhD, an associate professor in the departments of Surgery and Population Health at Grossman, explained prescribing patterns already show early signs of a widening access gap.²

“Physicians and health policymakers alike have a responsibility to ensure, as use of GLP-1 medications continues to rise, that all young children with obesity who need these drugs have access to them and that these valuable and sometimes costly treatments become available to more than those who have access to health insurance and can afford to visit pediatric clinics,” he said in a statement.

The pattern echoes what's already been documented in older children: a CDC analysis found that GLP-1 and other obesity-medication prescribing among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years rose sharply after the FDA expanded approval of liraglutide in December 2020 and semaglutide in December 2022, although uptake remained under 1% by 2023.³

Orandi said ongoing monitoring is needed to confirm GLP-1s remain safe and effective in younger children as use expands, and he noted that clinical trials are already testing the drugs in children with obesity as young as 6 years.²

Although GLP-1 prescribing among children aged 8 to 11 years with obesity remains rare, its 310-fold rise from 2019 to 2026 signals a rapid shift in how clinicians are approaching pediatric obesity. Moreover, the finding that children in upper-income communities were 55% more likely to receive a prescription suggests that access, rather than clinical need alone, may increasingly shape who benefits as GLP-1 use in young children continues to expand.

References

1. Orandi BJ, Patel SS, Mesito MJ, Mankowski MA, Segev DL, Massie AB. Trends in GLP-1 receptor agonist prescriptions for children ages 8 to 11 with obesity: 2019-2026. Pediatrics. Published online September 4, 2026. doi:10.1542/peds.2026-077048
2. GLP-1 use among young children with obesity in US remains rare but is rising rapidly. News release. NYU Langone Health. September 4, 2026. Accessed September 9, 2026. https://nyulangone.org/news/glp-1-use-among-young-children-obesity-us-remains-rare-rising-rapidly
3. Kompaniyets L, Pierce SL, Porter R, et al. Prescriptions for obesity medications among adolescents aged 12-17 years with obesity - United States, 2018-2023. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2025;74(20):337-344. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7420a1