United States: A new study has stated that nearly half of children who were assigned the “skinny jab” lost enough weight to no longer be classified as clinically obese.

The study, led by Dr. Aaron Kelly, the co-director of the Centre for Paediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota, looked at 201 adolescents who were classified as clinically obese.

Alongside receiving matching healthy lifestyle counselling, one group of 134 children aged between 12 and 18 received one dose of 2.4mg of semaglutide a week across 68 weeks, while 67 children received a placebo across the same period of time.

Semaglutide, which can be sold under the brand name Ozempic, is a medication traditionally used to treat type 2 diabetes by suppressing appetite, but it can also be used for long-term weight management.

The study’s results, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Dublin, found that while 12 percent of adolescents who were taking the placebo were able to lose enough weight to no longer be classified as clinically obese, for those who were assigned semaglutide, almost 45 percent of them were able to drop below the clinical definition of obesity.

By the end of the study, almost three-quarters (74 percent) of children assigned semaglutide had an improvement of at least one BMI category, compared with just under a fifth (19 percent) on the placebo.

The report concluded that administering semaglutide once a week gave “historically unprecedented” results and brought about “clinically meaningful improvements”.

Speaking at a press conference, Ms. Kelly noted that the drug could be transformative for children living with obesity but cautioned that it was not a quick fix and should be used in conjunction with lifestyle therapies and other anti-obesity measures.

“A question I get asked a lot is: ‘Is this going to solve the obesity problem? Should we give this to everybody?’ It’s not going to solve the obesity problem, but it’s an important piece of the puzzle in helping to solve it, especially for those who already have obesity. Semaglutide is transformative for many who are able to access this treatment. Many do very well with this medication, and it can be life-changing for them,” Ms. Kelly remarked.

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