Wegovy prescriptions for children near record as experts urge caution

Prescriptions for Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy among children in Denmark are nearing a record, DR reports, prompting experts to call for caution and specialised medical oversight.

In the first eight months of this year, 427 people under 18 filled a prescription for Wegovy. In all of 2024, the number was 394, according to figures from the health data bank.

Jens Meldgaard Bruun, a professor at Aarhus University and medical director of the National Centre for Obesity, said the medicine can be appropriate in rare cases when a child has obesity-related conditions that may improve or, in some cases, be cured with weight loss. He also noted that Novo Nordisk’s own studies indicate the medicine generally needs to be taken for life to maintain weight loss.

Bruun said only paediatricians should be able to prescribe weight-loss drugs to children, because they are best placed to assess children’s growth and development and monitor their treatment.

Maria Hæstrup, head of Julemærkehjemmet Hobro, a children’s home, said treatment should also address the reasons behind a child’s weight. She said weight can be part of a child’s distress or a symptom of not feeling well. At the home, staff work on children’s physical, mental and social wellbeing, which can help them feel better about themselves and their bodies and, in some cases, lose weight.

Novo Nordisk said a large trial involving children aged six to 11 found significant weight loss. The company has not yet applied for approval to use Wegovy in children as young as six, though it could do so later.

DR said it sought comment on a proposal to limit prescriptions for children to paediatricians from the Danish Health Authority, the Danish Medicines Agency and the Danish Medicines Council, but received no response to that question. The Health Authority said doctors must prescribe medicines with care and take account of approvals, its recommendations and relevant clinical guidance.

Novo Nordisk said its research is conducted in accordance with regulatory requirements and in collaboration with the scientific community and medicines authorities.