Hundreds of children in England are being prescribed GLP-1 medications, with some recipients younger than 12, according to a Guardian investigation. These medications were originally developed for type 2 diabetes but are now also used as slimming aids, with products like Wegovy and Mounjaro.
Data obtained from the NHS Business Services Authority shows that in the financial year 2025-26, 419 prescriptions for GLP-1s were issued to children under 18, including 10 for children under 12. From April to July this year, 341 prescriptions were issued to children, with 15 for those under 12. These figures relate to prescriptions in England dispensed in a community setting anywhere in the UK, but do not include private, prison, or hospital prescriptions, suggesting the numbers may be an underestimate.
Professor Martin Whyte of the University of Surrey noted that while the number of prescriptions is small relative to childhood obesity, children starting these drugs need specialist services with long-term support for diet, growth, and wellbeing. This includes regular monitoring of growth, puberty, nutritional intake, mental health, eating behaviours, and side effects. He highlighted that weight tends to return when the drugs are stopped and there is limited data on long-term use in growing young people.
Dr Dunia Ismail, a consultant paediatrician, stated that experts are considering widening the use of GLP-1s in NHS Complications from Excess Weight (CEW) clinics, potentially expanding to children aged eight and above once licence-approved. Last month, new global guidelines from the WHO advised against giving obesity medications, including GLP-1s, to children under 10.
Professor Julian Hamilton-Shield, a clinician at a Bristol CEW clinic, explained that children receiving semaglutide at these clinics typically have severe obesity and secondary comorbidities, and have not responded to standard dietary, nutritional, and psychological support. He stressed that these medications are used as an adjunct for children with very high excess weight, often classified as morbid obesity in adults.