Semaglutide in Children: England's Data

The journal Obesity Facts published a correction on 23 June 2026 to a conference abstract describing how 35 specialist weight management clinics in England have used semaglutide in children and young people^[1]. It is a conference abstract, not a peer-reviewed paper, and the comparison inside it is matched and observational rather than randomised. The abstract it corrects is titled "GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Use in Children and Young People with Severe and Complicated Obesity in 35 Specialist Weight Management Clinics in England", published in the congress supplement at Obes Facts 2026;19(suppl 1):295^[5].

What the corrected abstract reports

The corrected Results section describes 406 children and young people receiving semaglutide, 53.2% of them female, with a mean age of 15.3 years (standard deviation 1.7) and an age range of 11.3 to 19.5 years^[1]. They were matched to 787 comparator patients, giving 1,193 participants in total. Mean baseline %BMIp95, a measure that expresses a child's BMI as a percentage of the 95th centile for their age and sex, was 172.9 (standard deviation 29.5), alongside a BMI standard deviation score of 3.77 (standard deviation 0.47)^[1].

Across all 1,193 participants, 43.0% had metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and 23.2% had dysglycaemia, made up of type 2 diabetes at 4.7% and impaired glucose tolerance at 18.5%. Obstructive sleep apnoea affected 18.9%, hypertension 12.0%, and polycystic ovary syndrome 19.6% of the female patients. Depression, anxiety or self-harm was documented in 56.7% of the cohort^[1]. That is a group of teenagers already carrying organ and metabolic disease before adulthood.

At 6, 12 and 18 months, %BMIp95 was 13.8, 19.0 and 22.9 percentage points lower in the semaglutide group than in matched comparators, with 95% confidence intervals of -15.4 to -12.3, then -21.3 to -16.9, then -27.8 to -18.1^[1]. In relative terms those are reductions of 8.8%, 12.5% and 14.4%. Between-group BMI differences at the same three points were -2.7, -4.0 and -5.2 kg/m2 (95% confidence intervals -3.1 to -2.3, then -4.6 to -3.5, then -6.5 to -3.9), or relative reductions of 7.4%, 10.2% and 11.2%^[1].

Why the record was corrected

The authors, Madeley and colleagues, state that the abstract they submitted represented an earlier draft whose data were still subject to updates, and that the revised results presented at the congress drew on a more recent version of the dataset^[1]. The correction closes that gap. Nobody found fabricated data here. A team noticed that its own submitted figures had been overtaken by its own later dataset, and put the current ones on the public record.

What the randomised evidence in adolescents shows

STEP TEENS is the randomised trial in this age group. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2022, it randomised 201 adolescents aged 12 to under 18 years with obesity, or overweight plus at least one weight-related comorbidity, in a 2:1 ratio to once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg or placebo for 68 weeks alongside a lifestyle intervention^[2]. Mean BMI change was -16.1% on semaglutide against 0.6% on placebo, and 95 of 131 participants (73%) on the drug lost at least 5% of body weight, against 11 of 62 (18%) on placebo^[2]. Gastrointestinal adverse events occurred in 62% on semaglutide versus 42% on placebo, and cholelithiasis was reported in five participants (4%) on semaglutide and none on placebo^[2].

The licence, and the gap where NICE should be

The UK summary of product characteristics for Wegovy 2.4 mg lists weight management in adolescents aged 12 years and above with obesity and body weight above 60 kg, with adolescent obesity defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile on sex- and age-specific growth charts^[3]. The same document states that safety and efficacy in children below 12 years of age have not been established, and that treatment should be discontinued and re-evaluated if an adolescent patient has not reduced BMI by at least 5% after 12 weeks on 2.4 mg or the maximum tolerated dose^[3].

NICE has no recommendation to offer for this age group. Technology appraisal TA910 was terminated on 13 July 2023 after Novo Nordisk confirmed it did not intend to make an evidence submission, citing insufficient evidence for the risk equations linking weight loss to long-term outcomes in 12 to 17 year olds and for quality-of-life estimates in that population^[4]. NICE said it will review the position if the company decides to submit^[4]. Our UK regulatory page for semaglutide tracks where that stands.

What we do not yet know

The reported window stops at 18 months, so this record carries no long-term paediatric safety evidence in either direction. The abstract says nothing about what happens after treatment stops. A matched comparison also cannot rule out confounding by indication, because the clinicians decided which patients were offered semaglutide, and whatever drove that decision may also predict who loses weight^[1]. The corrected Results report no adverse events, no dropout rates, and no growth or pubertal outcomes. STEP TEENS remains the only randomised readout of the three sources here^[2].

What this means for a parent reading this

Every one of those 406 prescriptions sat inside an NHS specialist weight management service, with a paediatric team and a recorded comorbidity workup behind it^[1]. If you are worried about a child's weight, the route is a GP conversation and a referral into those services. Buying a peptide online instead puts a child on an unverified product with no paediatric monitoring behind it. Our semaglutide reference page and our UK regulation overview set out how the drug is controlled here, and our tirzepatide page covers the other incretin drug parents ask about.

This article is for educational and journalistic purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Peptides discussed may be classified as prescription medicines or research chemicals depending on your jurisdiction. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before using any peptide product. PeptideMethods.com does not sell, distribute, or facilitate the sale of any peptide product.