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Weight loss drugs for children
Weight loss injections such as Wegovy are licensed in the UK from the age of 12, and drug companies are testing them in children as young as six. On 7 October 2026 the World Health Organization said it does not recommend any obesity medicine for a child under 10. It said too little is known about what the drugs do to a growing body.
- NICE unable to rule on Wegovy for 12 to 17 year olds
- Trial of an obesity injection in under 12s reports
- One in ten reception children in England found to be obese
- WHO does not recommend obesity drugs for under 10s
Summary
- Wegovy and similar injections, known as GLP-1 drugs, reduce appetite and help a person feel full for longer.
- In the UK Wegovy is licensed, meaning approved for use, from the age of 12 for young people with obesity who weigh more than 60kg.
- The dispute is over younger children. The case for treating them is that some are already ill because of their weight.
- The case against is that no study shows what years of these drugs do to a growing body.
- Obesity in childhood is common. In England 10.5% of children are obese in their first year of school.
- On 7 October 2026 the World Health Organization (WHO) said it does not recommend any medicine, surgery or device for obesity in children under 10.
- It recommended structured help with diet, activity and habits.
- From the age of 10 a medicine may be considered for a young person whose obesity has caused other illness, once six months of that help has failed.
- WHO guidelines are advice that each country can adopt or adapt. In England NICE, which writes guidance for the NHS, already says these medicines are "not generally recommended" under 12.
Dig deeper
- The WHO made this a strong recommendation and graded the evidence behind it as low quality.
- Its review found no trial in children under six, and only one trial of a GLP-1 drug that included children aged six to nine.
- That trial enrolled 82 children aged 6 to under 12 and treated them for 56 weeks with liraglutide, a daily injection:
- body mass index fell by 5.8% on the drug and rose by 1.6% on a placebo, a dummy injection
- stomach and gut side effects were reported by 80% of children on the drug and 54% on the placebo
- Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy, funded it
- The WHO's reason was the unknown effect of the drugs on "normal growth, development, physiological parameters, and mental health".
- A WHO official told reporters there is no evidence that a child could take the drug for a time and then switch to diet alone.
- The WHO does not oppose trials. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are testing their drugs in children from the age of six.
- NICE's guidance for under 12s has an exception. A medicine may be used "only in exceptional circumstances, if severe comorbidities are present", meaning other serious illness, and prescribing must start in a specialist children's service.
- NICE ended its review of Wegovy for 12 to 17 year olds on 13 July 2023 without a recommendation, because Novo Nordisk did not submit evidence.
- NHS England reported in May 2025 that 30% of children assessed at its specialist obesity clinics had liver disease linked to their weight, and 21% had high blood pressure.
- Obesity is twice as common among reception children in the most deprived areas of England as in the least deprived, at 14.0% against 6.9%.
- The WHO says "Treatment alone cannot reverse the rise in obesity", and asks governments to make healthy food and physical activity more affordable.
Ethical issues
| Principle | How it applies here |
|---|---|
| Autonomy | Under 16s can consent for themselves only if they are Gillick competent, which a child under 10 is unlikely to be for a drug taken for years. Someone with parental responsibility consents for them. That parent can be told only what is known, and the one trial in this age group lasted 56 weeks. |
| Beneficence | A child at an NHS obesity clinic may already have liver disease, and in the trial body mass index fell by 5.8% on the drug while it rose on placebo. NICE's exception for "severe comorbidities" leaves room to treat such a child. This pulls against non maleficence, because the benefit was measured over 56 weeks and the long term effect on growth is unknown. |
| Non maleficence | The WHO judged that under 10 the balance between benefits and harms is unknown. Giving Wegovy to a child under 12 is outside its licence. A UK prescriber must then be satisfied that it serves the child better than a licensed alternative, and that there is enough evidence or experience that it is safe and works. |
| Justice | Obesity is twice as common in the most deprived areas, and NHS England planned its specialist clinics for 1,000 children a year. The WHO found no study of whether these drugs are worth their cost in children. A costly drug for a few very ill children competes for the same budget as prevention for many, which sets justice against beneficence for the single child. |
Interview questions
- What do you know about weight loss drugs for children?
- You are a GP. A father asks you to prescribe a weight loss injection for his eight year old daughter, who is being bullied about her weight. What do you do?
- What are the arguments for and against giving a weight loss injection to a nine year old who has severe obesity and liver disease?
- The WHO made a strong recommendation on evidence it graded as low quality. Can that be justified?
- Is it ethical to test a new drug on six year olds?
- Childhood obesity is twice as common in the most deprived areas. Should the NHS put its money into treating it or preventing it?
- Who should decide whether a child takes a medicine for years: the child, the parents or the doctor?
Sources
- NHSnhs.uk/…/treatment
- medicines.org.ukmedicines.org.uk/…/smpc
- GOV.UKgov.uk/…/government-acts-to-tackle-rising-childhood-obesity-epidemic
- who.intwho.int/…/07-10-2026-who-issues-first-global-guidelines-on-child-and-a
- who.intwho.int/…/9789240123878
- who.intwho.int/…/9789240123397
- NICEnice.org.uk/…/Medicines-and-surgery
- iris.who.intiris.who.int/…/content
- europepmc.orgeuropepmc.org/…/39258838
- yahoo.comyahoo.com/…/global-guidelines-warn-against-obesity-080759658.html
- healthpolicy-watch.newshealthpolicy-watch.news/…/glp-1-drugs-surgery-who-issues-guidelines-for-obesity-in-chi
- NICEnice.org.uk/…/Advice
- NHS Englandengland.nhs.uk/…/specialist-nhs-clinics-and-technology-help-thousands-of-obes
- NHSnhs.uk/…/children
- GOV.UKgov.uk/…/off-label-or-unlicensed-use-of-medicines-prescribers-respons
- NHS Englandengland.nhs.uk/…/specialist-clinics-for-children-and-young-people-living-with
Photo: okapi, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, colour altered.
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