The Alarming Trend of Increased GLP-1 Drug Usage Among Youth

Nowadays, it seems that societal perceptions of body image are harsher and more condescending than ever. There even seems to be an additional gender gap between men and women as to who receives more stigma for conforming to the “ideal body”. However, often the “ideal body” and “healthy body” can be divergent concepts. Recently, researchers discovered that young people have had an unusually high affinity for weight-loss and diabetes drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic. These two drugs which work as GLP-1 receptor agonists (encouraging GLP-1 hormone function through the lowering of blood sugar and support of weight loss), are just some of many GLP-1 drugs that have flooded the market after approval for use in adolescents.

Ever since its first approval in 2005 from the FDA, GLP-1 drugs have picked up massively in popularity. Ozempic (semaglutide that lowers blood sugar) was certified for use in adults with type 2 diabetes by 2017, while Wegovy (higher-dose semaglutide used for weight loss) was certified for use in adults in 2021, and for children in 2022. An additional GLP-1 drug used for weight loss, liraglutide, was approved for adult use in 2014, and for children 12 and older by 2020. The concern of Joyce Lee, a pediatric endocrinologist, and her team was that even though these GLP-1 drugs show initial promise and results for patients, not sufficient long-term data has been collected for their efficacy and any potential side effects. There is also the very real possibility that these GLP-1 drugs are being used in cases when the motivation for their administration is not necessarily a pending healthcare risk, but rather a cosmetic or pressure-induced reason.

Between 2020 and 2023, fulfilled prescriptions for Ozempic, Wegovy, and similar drugs among young adults and adolescents in the United States increased by almost 600%, skyrocketing from 8,700 prescriptions in 2020 to well above 60,000 prescriptions in 2023. Additionally, more than three times as many females aged 18-25 received these drugs than males of comparable age. This trend likely reflects the increasing worry of body dysmorphia amongst female users of GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs.

Author: Abhinav Katyal

Reference: 1. Rosen M. Young people’s use of diabetes and weight loss drugs is up 600 percent . Science News. May 22, 2024. Accessed August 12, 2024. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/diabetes-weight-loss-drugs-glp1-ozempic.