Weight-loss jabs for obese kids 'are effective and help prevent mealtime rows'

Weight-loss jabs for obese children are effective and help prevent battles around mealtimes, researchers have claimed.

Experts presented the findings at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga, Spain. They found that the drugs helped obese youngsters lose weight on top of a diet and lifestyle plan.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), however, is "unable to make a recommendation" about use of the jabs on teenagers because of a lack of evidence of their impacts. Weight-loss jabs, also known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, work by reducing food cravings but are known to cause nausea, diarrhoea, stomach cramps and vision problems.

They are available on the NHS for adults with a high body mass index (BMI) or through private providers. In certain instances where there is a proven clinical need, specialist paediatric clinics can prescribe weight-loss injections.

Dr Annika Janson, from Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden, presented the new research. She said: "GLP-1 drugs are increasingly used to treat obesity in adults.

"They can also be used in children from the age of 12 and clinical trials have shown children lose 5-16% of their body weight after a year of treatment." Alongside this, Dr Janson said the jabs had results "beyond obesity". "The families reported reduced conflicts around food and improved capacity for other lifestyle adaptations," she said.

She added: "It was easier to stick to meals and limit snacks. Portions could be downsized.

For some children, not being hungry all the time is a new feeling." A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk said the company hadn't submitted evidence for NICE appraisal because it lacked "utility data and risk equations in linking weight loss in adolescents to long-term outcomes." It added that, at this time, it had no intention of making an evidence submission. Last year, a report by the Food Foundation said that children in the UK were getting shorter, fatter and sicker due to "shocking levels" of poverty and food deprivation.

It found that obesity among 10 to 11-year-olds had increased by 30% since 2006, with one in five children classed as obese by the time they leave primary school. It comes as new data presented by Novo Nordisk showed that Wegovy for adults could help protect against heart disease in the earliest stages.

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