2024-09-23 10:17:04
Affecting one in two adults today, overweight and obesity represent increasingly worrying public health issues. Especially since their incidence continues to increase within the population and young people are increasingly affected. However, it is clear that the drug solutions currently available are rare. And if the Liraglutide may be effective in the management of childhood obesity ? This is the hypothesis put forward by a recent American study. Let’s take stock.
Childhood obesity: limited care
Today affecting one in two adults, Overweight and obesity represent increasingly worrying public health issues. Especially since their incidence continues to increase within the population and children and adolescents are increasingly affected. Being overweight often goes hand in hand with diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure. As for obesity, it is a chronic and multifactorial metabolic disease associated with numerous health risks.
Good to know! In 2017, the prevalence of obesity among young French people aged 6 to 17 was 5.4% and that of overweight was 20%.
However, it is clear that the drug solutions currently available for overweight and obesity are limited. Treatment is essentially based on hygienic and dietary measures relating to food intake or physical activity as well as bariatric surgery for severe forms of obesity. Currently, only one drug is currently available in France in the management of certain forms of severe obesity in adults: this is liraglutide.
Please note! Liraglutide is a GLP-1 (Glucagon Like Protein-1) analogue for type 2 diabetes. Clinical trials of this class of drugs have shown that they are able to improve glycemic control but also help to better control body weight. After initiating liraglutide treatment, weight loss is assessed at 12 weeks. If it does not exceed 5% of the patients’ weight, treatment is stopped.
In this context of limited therapeutic options for treating childhood obesity, American researchers have become interested in the effect of liraglutide in children with obesityin addition to traditional hygiene and dietary measures. According to them, if childhood obesity is not treated, it “almost universally persists into adulthood, so early intervention is essential.”
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Towards a new treatment for childhood weight loss?
To carry out This study, entitled “Scale Kids”the researchers recruited 82 obese children, aged 6 to 11 years and with a BMI of 31 kg/m2 and a body weight of 70.2 kg. After randomization, the children were divided into two groups:
A “liraglutide” group: with a dose of 3 mg per day by injection. A “placebo” group with a daily injection of placebo.
In addition to this daily injection, each patient received hygiene and dietary advice and was encouraged to do one hour of moderate to high intensity exercise per day.
After a follow-up period of just over a year (56 weeks), the researchers were able to observe the following results:
Body mass index (BMI) decreased by at least 5% in almost half of treated children versus 8.7% of children in the placebo group. Mean decrease of 5.8% in BMI for the liraglutide group versus an increase of 1.6% for the placebo group. Increase in BMI and body weight in both groups after stopping the injections. Mean change in body weight of +1.6% for liraglutide and +10% for placebo (explained by the children’s growth during the year). Improvement in obesity-related complications (such as blood pressure and glycemic control) in the liraglutide group.
It should be noted that there was no impact on puberty and growth in children in both groups. However, frequent side effects were reported in the liraglutide group (89.3%) and in the placebo group (88.5%). Thus, 80.4% of children in the liraglutide group suffered from gastrointestinal manifestations (compared to 53.8% for the placebo group). These gastrointestinal adverse effects are already known and frequent for GLP-1 receptor agonists.
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Further research needed
Presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2024 Congress and published in The New England Journal of Medicinethe results of this study attest to the efficacy and safety of liraglutide for weight loss in obese children aged 6 to 11 years.
The editorialists of the New England Journal of Medicine nevertheless emphasize that the Caution is advised regarding long-term effects of this treatment in prepubertal children. They are also concerned about the rebound in body mass index when treatment is stopped, leading to potential dependence on drug treatment.
According to them, it is necessary to wait for the results of the extension phase and to deepen this research work by conducting additional studies. Watch this space!
Read also – Anti-obesity medication, weight gain when stopped?!
Deborah L., Doctor of Pharmacy
Sources
– Liraglutide effective for weight loss in childhood obesity. www.lequotidiendumedecin.fr. Accessed September 15, 2024.
– Liraglutide for Children 6 to www.nejm.org. Accessed September 15, 2024.
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