A study suggests nutritional deficiencies are affecting nearly one in six children and teenagers taking GLP-1 medicines, while dietary support remains uncommon.
A new study has raised concerns that children and teenagers taking GLP-1 medicines for weight loss or diabetes could face a meaningful risk of nutritional deficiencies within a year of starting treatment. Researchers reported that nearly one in six young patients developed at least one diagnosed deficiency, with vitamin D emerging as the most common problem.
The findings come at a time when drugs in this class, including Wegovy, Saxenda, Ozempic and Trulicity, are being used more widely in paediatric care. According to the study, which was published in the journal Childhood Obesity, 16.8% of patients aged 10 to 17 were diagnosed with a deficiency or deficiency-related complication in the first 12 months after beginning treatment. Vitamin D deficiency affected about 12% of the group.
Justin Ryder, the senior author and vice-chair of research in the department of surgery at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, said the results highlight the need to think carefully about nutrition when these medicines are prescribed to younger patients. In comments quoted by Northwestern Now, Ryder said nutrients including vitamin D, iron and calcium are especially important during adolescence, when bones are growing and the body is undergoing major developmental changes.
The researchers also found that nutritional support was not being delivered routinely alongside treatment. Ryder said only 5% of patients received nutritional counselling within 30 days of starting a GLP-1 drug, and fewer than a quarter received it within six months. The study, which drew on national administrative claims data from 2017 to 2022 covering more than 100 million patients, found that liraglutide was the most frequently prescribed GLP-1 for children in the sample, followed by dulaglutide and semaglutide. The authors argued that nutritional care should begin as treatment starts, rather than waiting until a deficiency is identified.
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