11 hours ago
Teens turn to weight loss drugs in fight against childhood obesity
STORY: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS CONTENT SOME PEOPLE MAY FIND DISTRESSING
'There is this one kid who called me pregnant because of my weight.'
'I wouldn't be able to go up and down stairs without being out of breath.'
'You know, everyone's having a good life and I'm here like just going down.'
Roughly 8 million American teens live with obesity - one in five.
For many, their weight has become a painful physical and emotional burden –
Isolating them from their peers as they struggle to slim down.
But now there is another option –
Weight-loss drugs.
Reuters reporters spent more than a year closely following four teenagers who joined a small but fast-growing cohort choosing to take this medication –
Placing them at the forefront of a monumental shift in the treatment of childhood obesity.
'My name is Austin James Smith and I'm 17 years old.'
It was a miserable freshman year for Austin.
At almost 300 pounds, the 15-year-old struggled each morning to squeeze down the aisle of the school bus.
'There is this one kid who called me pregnant because of my weight, that's the main one that I can remember, that stuck through me.'
Austin, who has a mild form of autism, grew increasingly withdrawn.
His parents feared he might contemplate suicide.
Austin's mother, Elizabeth, who was on Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, thought her doctor could help.
'I was willing to do just about anything. I was hopeful and excited, but I was also nervous because I had had side effects. He was very willing to try, he was very excited to start Wegovy.'
Two months later, Austin had lost 23 pounds.
That's when he first noticed the difference: he didn't bump into the seats on the school bus.
'I was really ecstatic to tell my parents when I got home.'
Though his doctor chided him when he admitted to skipping meals, saying, 'You need to put gas in your tank to make it go.'
Stretching out his Wegovy doses led to Austin putting on weight and panicking - that stopped when the weekly injections restarted.
'I feel like that people could look at me and think of me as a potential employee instead of just immediately looking at me and thinking that they should reject me.'
Austin's weight has now leveled off at about 200 pounds - a 30% loss in 2 years.
But he doesn't want to contemplate life without Wegovy, now that he can finally accept his reflection in the mirror.
'So what health means to me is being stable mentally, physically and emotionally, and you can handle things that could potentially hurt you. And to get back up without too much struggle and showing resilience.'
Previously, paediatricians could suggest little beyond healthier diets and more exercise for these teens.
But that all changed in December 2022 when U.S. regulators approved Novo Nordisk's Wegovy for those aged 12 and older.
Meanwhile, insurance coverage for Wegovy has steadily expanded, but there are often restrictions - given its high cost and the number of eligible patients.
Medicare and most state Medicaid programs don't cover the drug solely for weight-loss.
'I'm Katie and I'm 16 years old.'
Katie Duncan was becoming increasingly depressed about her weight.
At 15, she was 6-foot-1, weighed 270 pounds, and had an increased risk of stroke and heart disease.
'You're sluggish, you're slow, you feel tired on time, you don't feel like moving, you don't feel like going places, you just want to eat food.'
She often ate five meals a day, hiding snacks in her bedroom.
But Katie's hunger wasn't normal.
Doctors said she had 'hypothalamic obesity' after a tumor damaged the portion of the brain that controls hunger when she was 7.
'I thought about it and said, I don't want to be a diabetic, I wanted to start the Wegovy shot so I can start losing weight and feel healthier and better.'
She lost about 20 pounds in the first couple of months, with mild side effects.
At times, Katie had no interest in eating – and skipped meals, despite her doctor's warnings not to.
Doctor Thao-Ly Phan also had Katie see the clinic's psychologist and nutritionist.
'We don't want kids to lose so much weight that they develop eating disorders. We really want to make sure that when they're losing weight on these medications that they're doing so safely. We want to make sure that they're still getting the nutrition they need to grow and to thrive.'
Research shows poor nutrition and eating habits during adolescence can have long-term consequences –
from impairing cognitive development to increasing the risk of osteoporosis.
Now, down 60 pounds, Katie says she has more stamina, and wants to stay on the drug.
'I can do more fun things with my family and I can run around instead of just sitting in the house all the time.'
'In the medical profession, we never like to go with trends and fads. But this is one fad that we think... Actually has some validity behind it. These medications though, I think are truly effective. And I just hope enough people see that it can be really helpful for these teenagers.'
Doctors who have embraced weight loss drugs, like Phan and the American Academy of Pediatrics, say Wegovy gives adolescents a chance at a healthier future.
It reduces their risk of developing type 2 diabetes and liver disease, and can ease teasing and social isolation.
Some doctors, though, are hesitant.
They cite the lack of long-term safety data and fear children won't get adequate nutrition while taking it.
The split leaves it up to families to consider the potential benefits and risks for themselves.
Leo did not want to be photographed for this story, or reveal his location or surname –
Fearing the exposure would lead to more teasing from his peers.
He was a compulsive eater, in part because of his ADHD, for which he takes medication.
He was diagnosed with obesity at 11. Later, he developed high blood pressure and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
His mother, who was taking Wegovy, thought it could help.
Aged 14, Leo's weight began dropping, the bullying eased, and he felt happy - but the commonly reported side effects started taking a toll.
Nausea and diarrhea - sometimes so severe his mom had to pick him up from school at lunch.
His absences piled up, Leo's grades suffered, and he became moodier.
He was prescribed an antidepressant.
But Leo was adamant, saying, 'no matter how sick I get, I don't want to stop.'
Now, the side effects have eased, his lab scores have improved, and he is down 30 pounds.
His doctor has said Leo will probably have to take Wegovy forever to maintain a healthy weight.
'My name is Stephanie Serrano. I'm 18 years old. Honestly I've like heard that my entire life, like every time I went to the doctors they would always be like, oh you're unhealthy, you're overweight, and I just kinda like I saw it as normal.'
At 320 pounds, Stephanie Serrano was desperate.
Already diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and liver disease at 16, she was a virtual shut-in.
Stephanie wanted weight-loss surgery.
'Social media was just everywhere and everyone was just having glow ups and I was just like where's mine at.'
She was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, a common cause of weight gain in young women.
Her doctor prescribed Ozempic, the Novo drug approved for type 2 diabetes, with the same active ingredient as Wegovy.
After four months, she had lost 30 pounds, with occasional nausea and stomach pain.
But Stephanie was determined.
In April 2023, she had gastric-sleeve surgery, removing a large portion of her stomach to reduce food intake.
Today, the college freshman weighs about 175 pounds.
Her diabetes is in remission, and her liver function is normal.
'It is a physical change, but it's not a personality change. And that kind of took me a while to kind of go through myself. Like physically I'm doing great, I'm not a different person.'
But amid the progress, another problem emerged:
'I became obsessed with counting calories. I became obsessed with working out. And that's where it really messed me up to be scared of food.'
Stephanie started skipping meals.
She was diagnosed with an eating disorder, and started seeing a psychologist.
She says she's making progress, but it's a 'constant battle.'
'I thought healthy growing up was being skinny. Do you think that you can't be healthy if your mental health isn't in the right spot? Because if your mental health isn't in the right spot, then you're kind of just damaging your physical body. Because everything just, it all connects.'
Austin, Katie, Leo and Stephanie all lost weight on Wegovy and Ozempic.
Despite a range of side effects – the teens' overall health improved as the scales went down.
Some gained confidence as bullying ebbed, others struggled with disordered eating.
None regretted taking the drugs.
