Health

Popular Weight-Loss Drugs Could Be Harmful For Children: Researchers

Authored by Mary Gillis via The Epoch Times

The potential lifelong consequences that weight-loss drugs could have on adolescents and children have a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, exercise and behavioural scientists, pharmacists, and ethics researchers at the University of California–Irvine (UCI) sounding alarms.

The team’s pre-proof paper (pdf), published by the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, suggests that swapping traditional methods like diet and exercise to tackle childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes for GLP-1RA medications like Wegovy and Ozempic will likely lead to a host of unintended physical and emotional problems.

“Unlike in adults, children and adolescents need energy and sufficient calories not only for physical activity but for growth and development,” Dr. Dan M. Cooper, associate director of the UCI Institute of Clinical and Translational Science and interim executive director of the UCI Institute for Precision Health, said in a news release.

While health experts applaud drug benefits like hunger suppression, low appetite, and slow gastric emptying in overweight, obese, or Type 2 diabetic adults, the paper’s authors argue these same benefits could backfire in younger groups.

Not getting enough calories can lead to nutritional deficiencies and put kids at risk of poor brain development, reduced learning ability, low immunity, increased infections, and—in some cases—death. Regular physical activity is necessary to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, build strong bones and muscles, control weight, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and slash the risk of developing health conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, and cancer.

Additionally, researchers say other possible harms should not be overlooked. Easy accessibility and availability could create a perfect storm for the potential of abuse among kids involved in sports with weight or body-type expectations, such as wrestling, martial arts, gymnastics, and ballet, as well as those with eating disorders.

“With the increase in social media, young people are already exposed to a diet culture and body images which may not be attainable and, ultimately, unhealthy,” said Jan D. Hirsch, one of the coauthors and the dean of the UCI School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, in the news release.

Another concern is the potential infiltration of illicit, unregulated copycat drugs in this age group.

GLP-1RA stands for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist. They are typically administered by shot injections on a daily or weekly basis, depending on the type. Pill forms are currently being developed and tested by pharmaceutical companies but are unavailable.

These drugs mimic the action of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 by regulating the rise in blood sugar levels after a person eats and stimulating the body to produce more insulin. The extra insulin helps lower blood sugar levels, which helps control Type 2 diabetes. GLP-1RAs appear to curb hunger and slow the process of food digestion, making a person feel fuller longer with less food.

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