Almost half of children on the weight-loss drug semaglutide are no longer clinically obese, landmark study finds

• 134 children with clinical obesity were given weight-loss drug semaglutide.
• Almost half of them lost enough weight to no longer be considered clinically obese.

Almost half of children given weight-loss jab semaglutide lost enough weight to no longer be considered clinically obese, a study found.

The study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Dublin, is the latest in a series of trials showing the jab offers life-saving treatment to people with obesity.

Two hundred and one adolescents with clinical obesity between 12 and 18 were entered in a trial to test the effect of the weight-loss drug semaglutide, marketed under the name Ozempic when it is prescribed for diabetes and Wegovy when prescribed for weight loss.

One hundred and thirty-four of these children received a weekly dose of 2.4 milligrams of semaglutide for more than a year, alongside healthy lifestyle counseling, The Guardian reported. The rest received the same lifestyle counseling and a placebo jab.

The study found that at the end of 68 weeks of treatment, almost 45% of children who got semaglutide dropped enough weight to no longer be considered clinically obese, compared to just 12% of adolescents who received the placebo, per The Guardian.

The results are "historically unprecedented with treatments other than bariatric surgery," Aaron Kelly, a study lead and the co-director of the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota said at a press conference about the findings, per The Guardian.

"These results underscore the high degree of clinical effectiveness of semaglutide in adolescents with obesity," the report stated per The Guardian.

Semaglutide has changed the face of obesity treatment

The FDA approved semaglutide, a drug initially designed to treat type 2 diabetes, for the treatment of obesity in 2021.

The drug has changed the face of obesity treatment. Obesity is a poorly understood disease, but what is clear is that for those who have it, lifestyle interventions and diets alone are usually not effective.

"The biggest misconception about obesity is that people have just let themselves go," Fatima Cody Stanford, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, previously told Insider.

"But research actually shows us that obesity is a disease caused by one's biology," she said.

However, a landmark study showed that semaglutide could help people who are dangerously overweight reduce their risk substantially, to the point where their weight was no longer a health issue.

The study was a breakthrough for the field, which previously could only offer invasive bariatric surgery as a last resort.

Since then, a series of papers have shown the drug can help people shed the pounds linked with obesity.

Semaglutide is safe but should only be used under clinical advice

The drug has taken over social media, prompting some to take it without a medical need for weight loss.

These posts, however, have prompted widespread false claims such as exaggerated side effects and misleading success stories, Christopher McGowan, a board-certified physician in internal medicine, gastroenterology, and obesity medicine, previously told Insider.

"Semaglutide is a legitimately effective medication. It provides health-altering weight loss," he told Insider. "It has an overall excellent safety profile and is generally well tolerated," he said.

But, he cautioned, "people are seeing on social media it's a quick fix or a way to lose a few pounds. That's not how they're studied or intended to be used."

While weight loss is generally a good thing, medical intervention is only deemed as necessary when your weight puts you at risk of serious health issues such as diabetes and cancer, Francesco Rubino, chair of metabolic surgery at King's College London, previously told Insider.

Those who aren't in that category could seek other interventions, such as improving their diet and exercise, he said.

"The question is, do you actually need to lose weight?" he said.

Semaglutide is also a lifelong commitment, as those who stop the drug can see their weight rebound, said Rubino.

"You would have to commit to a lifelong taking of this drug, which is something you would contemplate only if the benefits outweigh the risks, as low as this risk could be," Rubino said.