GLP-1 Drugs Are Reaching More Young Children With Obesity, but Access Is Becoming a Bigger Concern

The use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs among US children ages 8 to 11 with obesity has increased sharply since 2019, according to a new NYU Langone study published online in Pediatrics on September 4, 2026. Researchers found that 20,282 children ages 8 to 11 had been prescribed GLP-1 drugs during the study period, with use rising dramatically over the 7.5 years from 2019 through June 2026.

The increase comes as doctors are increasingly considering medicines such as Saxenda, Wegovy and Zepbound for children with severe obesity. The study suggests that the question is no longer simply whether these drugs are being used in young children, but also who is getting access to them and whether that access is being monitored safely over many years.

The biggest change is happening in younger children

GLP-1 drugs have become widely known as weight-loss medications, but they were originally developed to help manage conditions such as diabetes. They work in part by reducing appetite and improving blood sugar control.

The NYU-led researchers found that prescriptions remain more common among adolescents than younger children. Among children with obesity, the reported prescribing rates were 0.6% for those ages 8 to 11 and 0.9% for those ages 12 to 17.

Girls were also more likely than boys to receive GLP-1 prescriptions.

The researchers used Epic Cosmos, a large electronic health record database covering more than 300 million patients in the US. It draws information from 2,067 hospitals and 47,100 health clinics.

One figure in the release needs careful interpretation. It says the share of children ages 8 to 11 with obesity and without diabetes receiving GLP-1 treatment rose from 0.03% in 2019 to 9.3% in 2026, describing this as a 310-fold increase.

The release also describes overall use in young children as still low. Because those figures appear inconsistent, the safest takeaway is the study’s central finding: prescribing to young children has risen extremely rapidly from a very small starting point.

These are mostly children with severe obesity

The children receiving the medications were not generally described as having mild weight problems.

According to the study, 93.7% had severe obesity, meaning their BMI was substantially higher than that of most children of the same age and sex.

About 65.2% had at least one health condition linked to obesity, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or sleep apnea.

The researchers also found that about one-quarter of the younger children prescribed GLP-1 drugs were prediabetic, putting them at elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Lead investigator Babak J. Orandi, an obesity medicine specialist and associate professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said the drugs can have an important role when used carefully.

“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.”

Orandi added that GLP-1 medicines can help with weight loss, blood sugar regulation and appetite suppression, but said their use in children needs continued attention.

The unexpected concern is who can afford the treatment

The study also uncovered an access gap.

Young children living in higher-income communities were 55% more likely to receive GLP-1 medications than children who did not live in those communities.

That finding raises a separate issue from whether the drugs work. GLP-1 medications can be expensive, and treatment may also require regular visits to pediatric or obesity clinics.

Study co-senior author Allan B. Massie, an associate professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said prescribing patterns could be creating a divide between families who can obtain the drugs and those who cannot.

“Physicians and health policy-makers 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,” Massie said.

That access question could become more important as prescribing expands.

Why doctors are watching young children closely

The researchers say there is also a major difference between giving these drugs to adults and giving them to children who may need treatment for many years.

Orandi stressed the need for long-term monitoring to determine whether GLP-1 medications remain safe and effective in children.

Clinical trials are already being conducted in children as young as 6 years old with obesity. Those studies are expected to provide more information for doctors, policymakers and parents about how the medicines should be used in younger age groups.

The new findings therefore do not show that GLP-1 drugs should be routinely given to young children. Instead, they show how quickly the treatment landscape is changing.

The central question is shifting from whether GLP-1 drugs can enter pediatric obesity care to how doctors can use them safely, fairly, and appropriately as more children become eligible for treatment.