Novo Nordisk's Wegovy helps 40% of young children lose enough weight to no longer be obese in trial
A late-stage clinical trial by Novo Nordisk shows that Wegovy helped 40.4% of children aged 6 to under 12 lose enough weight to no longer be classified as obese after 68 weeks of treatment alongside lifestyle changes. The STEP Young trial met its primary endpoint of superior body mass index reduction compared to a placebo, with safety profiles consistent with older groups. This comes amid a 300-fold surge in off-label GLP-1 prescriptions for U.S. children under 12 since 2019.
Wegovy trial young children
▪A majority of the children enrolled in Novo Nordisk's STEP Young trial had a body mass index that placed them in a high obesity range at the start of the study
▪All patients enrolled in Novo Nordisk's STEP Young trial received lifestyle modification throughout the 68-week study, including a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity
▪In Novo Nordisk's late-stage STEP Young trial, 40.4% of children aged 6 to under 12 treated with semaglutide were no longer classified as obese after 68 weeks, assuming full adherence
▪The overall safety and tolerability of semaglutide in Novo Nordisk's STEP Young trial were consistent with safety and tolerability profiles observed in trials with adults and adolescents
Body mass index reduction
▪Novo Nordisk's Chief Scientific Officer Martin Holst Lange stated that the STEP Young results show semaglutide's potential to help children living with obesity who need medical treatment
▪The STEP Young trial met its primary endpoint by demonstrating superior body mass index reduction at week 68 in children taking once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide compared to the placebo group
Off-label GLP-1 prescription surge
▪GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are not approved for children under the age of 12 in the United States, despite a significant rise in prescriptions for this age group
▪A study published on September 4, 2026, found that prescriptions for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs among United States children under 12 have risen more than 300-fold since 2019
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