Currently, GLP-1 drugs are only prescribed for adults. But childhood and adolescent obesity are rising and the effects are dire. Approximately 1 in 5 U.S. children and adolescents have obesity.
I studied GLP-1 use in children. The results are reassuring
These medications are changing lives for kids who need them
By Babak J. Orandi, STAT, Oct. 1, 2026
I am a transplant surgeon, and my patients are getting younger. Many are in their 30s and 40s — adults whose organ failure can be traced back to childhood obesity. And obesity itself can be a barrier to transplant, compounding the crisis it created.
The data confirm what I see clinically. Adolescents with severe obesity are up to nine times more likely to develop chronic kidney disease in young adulthood, even without diabetes or hypertension. Childhood fatty liver disease increases mortality risk 40-fold and has become the fastest-growing cause of liver transplants in young adults… [end quote]
The rest of the article is behind a paywall but it’s aimed toward using GLP-1 drugs in young people.
Many of the young obese are poor. GLP-1 drugs are expensive. Will Medicaid pay for GLP-1 drugs for obese young people to prevent the very expensive, dire physical problems that will result in young adulthood (and almost surely by middle age)?
It’s easy to say that diet would control the problem - of course that’s true! But poor people are even more pressured to eat cheap, high-carb foods than people with more money. Healthy fresh foods are expensive and require preparation. Single moms (especially working single moms) don’t have the money and/or time.
Is this a market opportunity? Or would the cost be so high that coverage will be denied?
Wendy