The panic hit the second I opened my eyes. There in my bedroom, in the middle of the night, I saw my 11-year-old daughter Sophia clutching her ribs in agony.
‘I’ve just thrown up and it hurts Mum,’ she said. ‘I feel like I’m going to die.’
In the mad dash to hospital, I tried to stay calm, but I was full of fear and self-recrimination. ‘Why on earth did I do this?’ I thought in terror. ‘How could I possibly think that this was okay?’
After all, I was only trying to help my daughter be healthy and avoid the decades of self-loathing I’d endured.
That’s why I’d agreed to let her take Wegovy, the weight-loss injection.
Now, six weeks after her first dose, she was doubled over in pain. I know how shocking it sounds. Even once people hear that there was nothing seriously wrong with Sophia, it’s hard not to judge.
How could a mother allow her precious child to take a weight-loss jab in the first place?
And how, after that scare, could she let her take it again?
But I stand firmly behind my decision. I only ask people to listen to the events that led me here. Maybe then you’ll see why I did it, and why I’ll allow Sophia to keep taking the injections for as long as she wants.
Ashley Hamilton allowed her daughter, Sophia, to start on weight-loss jabs when she was just 11 years old
It started when I was 12 myself and realised that I was different.
My dad John had snapped a picture of me and a friend after a swimming competition and I was suddenly struck by how much bigger I was than the other girls.
They were two or three clothes sizes smaller than me, my stomach stuck out further and my thighs were fatter.
The realisation I was obese was a horrible watershed moment, made worse by the sense of my body being out of control.
I was also aware that my lovely mum Natalie had been on lots of diets, growing and shrinking over the course of my childhood.
One day not long afterwards, she showed me a picture of herself at 13 and said, sadly: ‘I was really fat.’ I remember thinking: ‘What does she think of me?’ But when, a few months later she said, ‘Do you want to do WeightWatchers with me?’
I was grateful. It was as if she was saying: ‘I know what you’re going through.’
Yet going on a diet backfired badly, though I don’t blame Mum.
Suddenly I was obsessing over every mouthful. There’d be days when I’d refuse to eat dinner because I’d already reached my daily ‘Points’ allowance. Or I’d overeat because I’d panic and think, ‘I’d better eat this now, because I don’t know if I’ll be able to eat it again later’. Not surprisingly, I didn’t lose much weight.
When I started a new school at 13, things got even worse. At the age of 14 I was already a size 16 and was taunted for being fat.
I dealt with the bullying by comfort eating but by 17, and a size 22, I’d had enough. I told my parents that I wanted to leave and work instead. They agreed and, in some respects, it was a relief. But I was still in a body I hated. I certainly didn’t have much of a social life or any serious relationships.
Then at 24, still a size 22, I began taking evening college classes and met Tylor, now 43.
We formed an instant connection and I couldn’t believe this tall, slim, handsome and kind man liked me.
Whenever I mentioned my unhappiness with my body he would simply say, ‘I love you for who you are’.
We were thrilled to discover I was pregnant in January 2012 but when Sophia was born what should have been a beautiful time was clouded by the disgust I felt when I saw myself in photos with her.
Yet as I attempted to shrink in any way I could in the coming years, trying slimming shakes and the keto diet, I did my best not to let her see my endless body battles.
I was relieved that she seemed to have inherited Tylor’s height and long limbs rather than my physique. Happy and confident, Sophia loved sports and dance, had friends and enjoyed school.
Then, at the end of 2022, when she was ten, something shifted. She was suddenly quieter and sadder, losing her enthusiasm for her activities.
Finally, she opened up and said that other kids had been calling her ‘fatty’. Like me at a similar age, she was suddenly noticeably larger than her peers. Now, not only was I watching my precious child suffer, but my own horrible memories came flooding back.
Tylor and I tried our best to support Sophia. We began cycling and swimming as a family and swapped snacks for fresh fruit and vegetables. We also spoke to her doctor. But they had no explanation for why Sophia’s weight was increasing, despite the fact she was so active, and concluded it was down to her diet.
I left the appointment feeling judged as a mother.
Soon Sophia was a size 14 and I was at a loss as to how to help her.
It didn’t help that, at 19st 11lb and a size 24, I was still battling with my own weight.
Ashley had her own battles with weight loss, having been taunted for being a size 16 at the age of 14
Ashley lost nine pounds in ten weeks when she started on Ozempic
Then I suddenly noticed that lots of colleagues at the call centre where I worked were losing weight but were vague about how they’d done it.
A few days later I heard one on the phone asking about her ‘Mounjaro’.
Intrigued, I Googled it, and that’s how I first learnt about weight-loss injections. There was semaglutide, under the brand name Ozempic or Wegovy, and tirzepatide, known as Mounjaro. They all worked by mimicking the hormone GLP-1, slowing down your digestion and managing your hunger.
At this point it didn’t occur to me that Sophia could take them – but I wondered if they would be the answer for me.
Reading the research, I discovered the possible side-effects ranged from nausea and vomiting to pancreatitis, thyroid cancer, gallbladder disease and kidney failure.
I also spent hours on social media reading about people’s amazing weight-loss transformations. I desperately wanted to try the jabs.
I discussed it with Tylor, who was supportive, as well as Sophia.
That may sound surprising, but if I did experience side-effects, I wanted her not to be scared.
So, in May 2023 I stood in my bathroom, Ozempic injection in one hand, took a deep breath and stuck the needle in my stomach.
I was thrilled to lose nine pounds in ten weeks. Swapping to Mounjaro in December 2023, I found the weight loss was even quicker.
As the pounds dropped it was incredible to feel my energy rise and my joints stop aching.
I could run without wheezing and get on the floor to play a board game with Sophia without pain.
After decades of struggle, I couldn’t believe that a once-weekly jab was making all this possible.
I believed in it so much that, alongside my full-time job, I began working with a telehealth platform selling semaglutide and tirzepatide – offering advice and answering questions from people and receiving a commission for any purchases.
But, despite my weight-loss success, I couldn’t feel truly happy because Sophia was still unhappy.
In April 2024, I was clothes shopping with her and my mum, who’s now 68. Trying on a top I realised I’d dropped three sizes in just five months. Overall, I’d lost nearly six and a half stone and dropped five dress sizes since I’d started the Ozempic 11 months earlier.
I was elated, until I saw Sophia’s face. ‘What’s wrong, sweetheart?’ I asked. She paused before replying sadly: ‘Mum, it’s just not fair that you can lose weight and I can’t.’ Looking at my daughter, by then 11, it was like seeing a younger version of myself. Something clicked inside me, and that night I told Tylor I was going to look at the research into children taking weight-loss medication.
‘If it is something we can do, and if Sophia wants to do it, then that’s what is going to happen,’ I vowed.
He immediately agreed because he trusted that I would be thorough in my research and knew I wanted only the best for Sophia.
I discovered there’s a growing body of research in this area. A 2022 clinical trial funded by Novo Nordisk (the manufacturers of Ozempic and Wegovy) of 201 children aged 12 to 18 found that the BMI of those on a weekly dose of semaglutide fell by around 16 per cent after 68 weeks, a greater reduction than with lifestyle interventions alone.
Earlier this year, the 2025 European Congress on Obesity also heard positive testimony about using GLP-1 drugs to treat obesity in children over 12.
In the US, where we live, Ozempic isn’t approved for children. But in 2022 the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved Wegovy for 12 to 18 year olds if a child has a BMI of over 27 – which at 11st 7lb aged 11, Sophia did.
In the UK, some NHS trusts are prescribing weight-loss jabs to children as young as ten to treat obesity, although they are not approved for this age group by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Though I thought it could be a great option for Sophia, I didn’t suggest it to her because I didn’t want her to feel pressured into it.
But a month after our shopping trip Sophia walked into my bedroom. ‘Mum, can I ask you a question?’ she said nervously. ‘Can I take these medications?’
I told her that if a doctor said it was ok then she could. I could see her relief and felt so grateful that she could come to me.
Blood tests found she was both pre-diabetic and insulin resistant. Being less responsive to insulin made it harder for her body to regulate blood sugar levels, leading to increased fat storage. Seeing those results was a lightbulb moment for me.
Here was the reason why lifestyle changes alone were not leading to Sophia’s weight reduction. This wasn’t just about healthy eating and exercise, this was a medical issue that needed a medical solution.
She was referred to an endocrinologist who agreed that the right course of action was for Sophia to try six weeks of Wegovy.
At 11 years and eight months old, she was just under the accepted age of 12, but because of her various conditions – being pre-diabetic and insulin resistant – it was still considered appropriate.
We decided she would start over the summer holidays, so that no one else would need to know.
When you’re struggling with your weight people judge you for being weak and lazy, but the reaction when they hear you’re ‘cheating’ with injections is worse.
Throw in the fact Sophia was only 11, and I knew the criticism would be off the scale. Besides, it was no one else’s business.
Sophia was thrilled but when the medication arrived she was too scared of the needle to begin with. I simply said: ‘When you’re ready, just let me know.’
Three weeks later Sophia ran to me in the garden shouting ‘Mum, look, I took my shot!’ Lifting up her T-shirt she showed me her stomach, and the tiny mark the injection had left.
‘I can’t believe you did it yourself,’ I said, and she laughed. ‘Mum, I’ve watched you do it for five months!’
I know it might sound shocking that a child is injecting themselves without an adult present, but Sophia was right, she really did know what she was doing.
I was super-vigilant from that moment on to make sure she was getting the right nutrients.
Without enough protein you can have muscle and bone density loss, so it was vital this was a part of every meal.
‘I stand firmly behind my decision,’ Ashley says. ‘I only ask people to listen to the events that led me here’ (picture posed by model)
You also need fibre and digestive enzymes, because the medication slows your gastric system. This is even more important when it’s a growing child.
Sophia lost four pounds in that first week and her happiness was incredible to see. She said that for the first time in her life she wasn’t always thinking about her next meal. I knew exactly what she meant.
Everything was going brilliantly, with Sophia going from 11st 7lb to 10st 3lb, until the day after her sixth – and last – weekly injection when she began being sick and we rushed her to hospital in agonising pain.
My relief at hearing it wasn’t a gallbladder or pancreas issue caused by Wegovy was immense. It was just a simple case of constipation, the doctor explained.
Sophia quickly bounced back and we were delighted to see her old energy and confidence return.
On the first day of term, she asked to share a picture of her doing an ‘outfit of the day’ on my TikTok. In the past, she’d refused to even have a photo taken.
Kids at school didn’t seem to notice the weight loss or, if they did, they didn’t ask her about it.
For the next ten months, even though she had stopped the injections, everything was great.
We even did a TV interview, sharing our story in March. I almost burst with pride to hear Sophia sharing how Wegovy had helped her.
But the comments online, criticising her appearance and judging me as her mother for allowing it, were awful.
‘This is what is wrong with our society’, people wrote. According to them Sophia was still ‘chunky’.
There were the inevitable comments that she was ‘taking the easy way out’, and ‘shame on her mum for putting her on adult drugs’. But I also had messages from other mums with children on weight-loss injections, thanking me for sharing our story.
Hearing their fear of talking about it with even close friends made me even more determined to speak out.
While I understand why some people view this as controversial, and weight-loss jabs should be a last resort for children rather than the first port of call, I firmly believe judging parents for letting their children have these injections is ridiculous.
What kind of mother would I be if I had just sat back and allowed Sophia to become fully diabetic?
If that happened, she’d have to take insulin every day. Yet somehow that’s acceptable, while one injection a week to prevent it is terrible? It just doesn’t make sense to me.
People want to see weight as a lifestyle issue, but this is a health issue, and what’s wrong with taking a medication that can make a huge difference?
Which is why when Sophia, who will be 13 in September, came to me recently and asked to go back on Wegovy, I said ‘yes’.
Despite her physical activity and healthier lifestyle, the weight has started creeping back on.
Some experts in the UK have concerns about this weight ‘rebound’ when treatment stops, and especially the impact on youngsters of staying on the injections long-term, which has not yet been researched.
But I’m not currently worried about the possibility of long-term effects; I’m more concerned about the well-documented long-term impacts of obesity that Sophia might face without the injections.
I’m determined to empower Sophia and break the cycle of unhappiness that has plagued generations of my family.
If that means Sophia taking medication for the long-term, or even for ever, then I support her 100 per cent.
Now 38 myself, I’m still taking Mounjaro, and have shrunk to 12st 9lb and a size 12. I don’t have any plans to stop using it.
No one should have to suffer the misery and health impacts of being in a larger body when there are medical options that are available to help, and that goes for our children, too.
As told to Kate Graham
