Hundreds of children in England received National Health Service prescriptions for GLP-1 medications over the past year, with some patients starting the powerful slimming drugs before their 12th birthday.
The figures, obtained by The Guardian through freedom of information requests to the NHS Business Services Authority, show 419 prescriptions issued to children under 18 during the 2025-26 financial year. Ten of those prescriptions went to children under 12. Between April and July, clinicians issued another 341 prescriptions, including 15 for patients younger than 12.
The data covers community dispensations across the UK for patients in England. It excludes private clinics, prisons, and hospital pharmacies, so young people likely use it much more often.
In Plain English: The Clinical Takeaway
- What GLP-1s do: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists mimic a natural gut hormone to regulate blood sugar, slow stomach emptying, and signal fullness to the brain.
- Who receives them: Under NHS pilot programs, severely obese children who face serious health complications and fail to lose weight through lifestyle changes alone are evaluated for the medications.
- The core uncertainty: Experts caution that young patients typically regain weight after stopping the injections, and long-term safety data for growing bodies remains sparse.
Prescriptions Rise Amid Widening Childhood Obesity Rates
The rising dispensation of weight-loss medications coincides with worsening public health metrics for young people. Figures from the National Child Measurement Programme show that 10.7% of reception-year children aged four and five are obese. That figure rises to 22.8% for children in year 6 aged 10 and 11.
Globally, the World Health Organization reported that 400 million children and adolescents between five and 19 were overweight in 2024, with 170 million living with obesity. In response, NHS England launched Complications from Excess Weight clinics starting in 2021. Those specialized services target children aged two to 16 with severe obesity.
Nearly 6,500 children have since been referred to CEW clinics, including more than 400 younger than four. While hundreds of young people have received weight-loss medications through these services, only select clinics access specific funding to dispense GLP-1s, typically through hospital pharmacies.
Martin Whyte, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Surrey, said that total prescription numbers remain small relative to the broader population affected by childhood obesity. However, he emphasized that young patients require comprehensive clinical oversight.
“The important thing is that children who start them do so within specialist services, with support for diet, growth and wellbeing, and a plan for the long term,” Whyte told The Guardian.
He added that treatment must involve regular monitoring of growth, puberty, nutrition, mental health, and potential adverse side effects.
Experts Disagree on Age Limits for Prescribing GLP-1 Medications
Medical experts disagree on the appropriate lower age limit for prescribing GLP-1 medications. Last month, global guidelines from the World Health Organization said that obesity medications should not be given to children under the age of 10.
Conversely, pharmaceutical trials continue to evaluate younger cohorts. A trial involving 165 children aged six to under 12, conducted by Wegovy and Victoza manufacturer Novo Nordisk, suggested that GLP-1s can assist young children with obesity.
Dr. Dunia Ismail, a consultant pediatrician who runs a CEW clinic, said that specialists are reviewing current age thresholds. “We have been sticking to 12, although now we are looking at expanding that to eight-plus once licence-approved,” Ismail told The Guardian.
Julian Hamilton-Shield, a professor in diabetes and metabolic endocrinology at the Bristol Complications CEW clinic, explained that young patients receiving semaglutide generally present with severe secondary conditions. Those complications include type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, liver disease, and intracranial hypertension.
“Probably, in the vast majority of cases, they have a secondary comorbidity such as type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea, liver disease, intracranial hypertension – you name it, they’ve got it,” Hamilton-Shield told The Guardian. “So it’s been used as an adjunct after standard therapies haven’t really helped. However, it is used quite frequently and it is a very effective drug.”
| Metric / Source | Data Point | Context |
|---|---|---|
| NHS BSA (2025-26) | 419 prescriptions | Issued to children under 18 in England (community dispensing) |
| NHS BSA (Under-12s) | 10 prescriptions | Issued to children under 12 in the 2025-26 financial year |
| NHS BSA (Apr-Jul) | 341 prescriptions | Issued in a four-month window, including 15 for under-12s |
| National Child Measurement Programme | 22.8% obesity rate | Recorded among children in year 6 (ages 10 and 11) |
Addressing Stigma and Patient Agency
The expansion of pharmacological treatments for minors has renewed discussions regarding the underlying drivers of excess weight. Clinicians caution against placing moral blame on patients or their families.
“We’re a health service that delivers health to the people who require it. We’re not one that makes moral judgments about people,” Hamilton-Shield told The Guardian.
He described how effective medical intervention can restore a sense of control for adolescents facing severe social stigma, school absenteeism, and physical complications.
“These children and young people are from very complex backgrounds, have enormous lack of self-esteem,” Hamilton-Shield told The Guardian. “They’re not attending school. They’ve got all these complications. They’ve got all the stigma. And when you actually give them a drug that helps them to lose maybe 25, 30kg, [it is] the first time they feel they have any agency in their lives at all, and that will have a transformative effect in its own right.”
Who Must Avoid These Medications and When to Seek Medical Help
Patients with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 must avoid GLP-1 receptor agonists. These medications are also contraindicated during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Parents and caregivers should seek immediate medical evaluation if a child taking these medications exhibits symptoms of severe abdominal pain radiating to the back, persistent vomiting, signs of allergic reaction, or rapid mood changes involving depressive thoughts.
Ismail reinforced the severity of untreated pediatric obesity when considering the risks of clinical intervention. “We know now that obesity is not a choice, it’s a condition,” Ismail told The Guardian.
“We’re giving them GLP-1s because there is nothing else you can do at this stage. Otherwise, they will die young, they will have heart disease, they will have diabetes … It’s just terrible what could happen to them if we don’t.”
References
- The Guardian. (2025). Hundreds of children in England prescribed weight-loss jabs, figures show.
- National Health Service Business Services Authority. (2026). Freedom of Information Data Release on Community Dispensations.
- National Child Measurement Programme. Annual Report, Academic Year 2025 to 2026, England. Department of Health and Social Care.
- World Health Organization. (2024). Global Estimates on Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents.
Consult a qualified pediatrician or metabolic specialist regarding individual treatment plans.
