#Aap-2023-Guideline

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Industry September 15, 2026 · View digest

STAT News Landscape Piece: Obesity Drugmakers Now Testing in Children as Young as Six Following Novo STEP Young Phase 3 Readout September 7

STAT News published Tuesday September 15, 2026 a landscape piece flagging that obesity drug developers have expanded pediatric trial testing to include children as young as six years old, extending the age range down from the Wegovy 12-and-older U.S. label. Novo Nordisk's STEP Young Phase 3 (topline reported September 7) tested once-weekly semaglutide in 165 children aged 6 to under 12 with obesity: 40.4% of the semaglutide group achieved a BMI below the obesity threshold at week 68 versus 0% on placebo, with no new safety concerns and no signals for growth or pubertal development. STAT flagged additional pediatric-obesity trial activity following the January 2023 AAP Clinical Practice Guideline endorsement of medication therapy for children aged 12+ and consideration in ages 6-11. The September 4 Pediatrics journal publication documented a 310-fold increase in GLP-1 prescribing to U.S. children aged 8-11 with obesity between 2019 and mid-2026 (0.03% to 9.3%), with 93.7% of recipients having severe obesity and 65.2% having weight-related comorbidities. Full STEP Young results are scheduled for ObesityWeek 2026 (November 14-17, Washington DC). No Wegovy sNDA for ages under 12 has been filed as of September 15, 2026.

Research September 12, 2026 · View digest

AAP Pediatrics Journal Study: GLP-1 Prescribing in U.S. Children Aged 8-11 With Obesity Rose 310-fold From 2019 to Mid-2026 (0.03% to 9.3%); 93.7% Have Severe Obesity, 65.2% Have Comorbidities

A study published September 4, 2026 in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal Pediatrics (DOI: 10.1542/peds.2026-077048) documented a 310-fold increase in GLP-1 receptor agonist prescribing in U.S. children aged 8 to 11 without diabetes and with obesity between 2019 and mid-2026 — from 0.03% of eligible children in 2019 to 9.3% in 2026. Prescribing captured liraglutide, semaglutide, and tirzepatide across the age group. Recipient characteristics: 93.7% had class II or III severe obesity at baseline, 65.2% had at least one weight-related comorbidity, and approximately 25% had prediabetes. Socioeconomic gradients were substantial: children in upper-income communities were prescribed GLP-1s at 55% higher rates than those in lower-income communities. The trend accelerated notably following the December 2022 FDA approval of Wegovy for adolescents 12 and older (implicit off-label use in the younger cohort) and shifted further after the AAP's January 2023 pediatric obesity clinical practice guideline. FoodNavigator syndicated the study September 10, 2026 alongside broad coverage this week; the data show how quickly clinical practice moved ahead of the STEP Young Phase 3 topline announced September 7.