KIDS as young as ten are being given weight-loss jabs on the NHS, figures suggest.
At least 188 severely obese youngsters are being prescribed Wegovy at specialist NHS weight clinics, data from 13 health trusts suggests.
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Most trusts said their youngest patients were 12, but one admitted treating children aged just ten, an audit by the Daily Mail found.
The revelation comes as the wider rollout for adults drags on – with estimates suggesting it could take up to 12 years before Mounjaro reaches all 3.4million eligible adult patients.
Weight-loss jabs, also known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, work by reducing food cravings but are known to cause nausea, diarrhoea, stomach cramps and vision problems.
They are available on the NHS for adults with a high body mass index (BMI) or through private providers.
The health watchdog the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not formally approved the jabs for under-18s.
But, in certain instances where there is a proven clinical need, specialist paediatric clinics can prescribe weight-loss injections.
One in three children leaving primary school is overweight or obese, official numbers show.
And experts warn most kids in some areas of England will be obese within a decade.
Doctors have voiced concern that there is no long-term research on how weight loss injections, also called “fat jabs”, affect young people.
“We already know that there are side-effects with these medications, but because these treatments are relatively new, we do not yet have any long-term research or data, especially in young people,” Dr Semiya Aziz, an NHS and private GP, said.
“So we have no idea what the implications might be in ten years’ time.”
But others defended the use of Wegovy in extreme cases.
“The decision to prescribe these medications off-label will have not been taken lightly, Dr Nerys Astbury, associate professor in diet and obesity at Oxford University, explained.
“But the current evidence on the potential benefits as well as potential harms will have been carefully considered and a decision made in partnership with a multi-disciplinary team and in consultation with patient and their family.”
Wegovy, the brand name for semaglutide, is licensed in Britain for patients 12 and over, after it was approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). It says jab should come alongside a low-calorie diet and more exercise.
But it can only be prescribed to children at one of 37 NHS weight clinics.
The biggest numbers are at Darent Valley Hospital in Kent, with 33 kids, Alder Hey in Liverpool with 30, and Portsmouth with 23 – including the ten-year-old.
A Portsmouth spokesman said: “Pharmacotherapy is used in a small number of children and young people, as part of a holistic, bespoke treatment plan, for management of complication of excess weight including type 2 diabetes and hypertension.”
Previous research, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga, Spain, in May, found weight-loss jabs for obese children are effective and help prevent battles around mealtimes.
They found that the drugs helped obese youngsters lose weight on top of a diet and lifestyle plan.
What is the NHS’ advice for helping children stay a healthy weight?
THE NHS has tonnes of advice on their website about helping children stay a healthy weight.
They say parents should:
- encourage your children to do some kind of activity every day. It can be a good idea to find something they like doing, such as sports or playground activities, and encouraging that
- try to give them a healthy, balanced diet that includes fruit and vegetables, starchy foods, protein and dairy
- use rewards like stickers for when your children reach their activity or food goals
- make yourself their role model by staying active and eating healthily
- help them get enough sleep. By enforcing a regular bedtime routine, and removing technology from their bedrooms, you are helping them stay healthy too
Last year, a report by the Food Foundation said that children in the UK were getting shorter, fatter and sicker due to “shocking levels” of poverty and food deprivation.
It discovered that obesity among 10 to 11-year-olds had increased by 30 per cent since 2006, with one in five children classed as obese by the time they leave primary school.
It comes as new data presented by Novo Nordisk showed that Wegovy for adults could help protect against heart disease in the earliest stages.
Alongside this, it was said to cut the risk of heart attack, stroke or early death in high-risk patients.
