More teens are using weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic

Thousands of prescriptions of semaglutide, sold under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic, were written for children ages 12 to 17 in 2023, according to PurpleLab data.

Demi Buckley initially tried to lose weight through diet and exercise, she said, but despite her efforts nothing worked. 

The 16-year-old from Saginaw, Michigan, said it was really discouraging to watch other girls do the same workouts as her. “I didn’t know what was wrong with me or why I couldn’t lose weight,” she said. 

Her mother, Deana, understood what it was like to struggle with her weight. She had bariatric surgery over 20 years ago, but didn’t lose as much weight as she needed to. It wasn’t until she started taking Mounjaro, a diabetes drug often prescribed off-label for weight loss, that she started to see results.

Those results opened Demi up to the idea of trying a weight loss drug herself. 

She started Wegovy in March 2023, not long after the Food and Drug Administration approved it for use in adolescents as young as 12. She has since lost 58 pounds.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/weight-loss-drugs-teens-ozempic-wegovy-kids-rcna139687

---