Hundreds of children in England prescribed weight-loss jabs
In England, 419 GLP-1 prescriptions were issued to under-18s in the 2025-26 financial year, 10 of them for children under 12. Experts stress specialist supervision and long-term planning.
Hundreds of children in England are receiving prescriptions for GLP-1 medicines, which were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes but have become a popular weight-loss aid. Some of the patients are younger than 12, according to figures obtained by The Guardian. The data show how widely drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro are now used among minors.
The Guardian obtained the numbers from the NHS Business Services Authority through freedom of information requests. In the 2025-26 financial year, 419 prescriptions were issued to people under 18, including 10 for children under 12. Between April and July this year, 341 prescriptions were issued to children, 15 of them to those under 12.
The figures cover prescriptions issued in England and dispensed in the community anywhere in the UK. They exclude private prescriptions and those dispensed in prisons and hospitals, so the real total is likely to be considerably higher. One private children's clinic has previously said more than 200 of its patients receive the injections. It is also unclear whether all the prescriptions are primarily for weight loss.
Obesity levels
The National Child Measurement Programme reports that 10.7% of reception-year children (aged 4 and 5) are obese, rising to 22.8% in year 6 (aged 10 and 11). The World Health Organization (WHO) says 400 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 were overweight in 2024, including 170 million with obesity.
Since 2021 the NHS has piloted specialist clinics for children aged 2 to 16 with severe obesity. In May, NHS England said almost 6,500 children had been referred to them. Consultant paediatrician Dr Dunia Ismail said her clinic currently uses the drugs from age 12, but is looking at extending this to eight and over once a licence is approved.
Last month the WHO issued guidelines saying obesity medications should not be given to children under 10. Martin Whyte, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Surrey, said children should start the drugs within specialist services with a long-term plan, since weight tends to return once treatment stops.
