The use of anti-obesity drugs among children and young people in Sweden is increasing rapidly. In April this year, 1,613 people between the ages of 0 and 19 received such drugs, compared with 618 in April 2025, according to figures from the National Board of Health and Welfare.
Just as for adults, treatment should be given in conjunction with lifestyle changes such as diet and physical activity. This approach is now also supported by research.
"Medications do not remove fat but help the person eat less. They suppress appetite, increase the feeling of satiety and suppress food-seeking behaviour, making it much easier for children with strong appetites to change their eating habits," says Annika Janson, senior physician at the National Center for Childhood Obesity in Stockholm.
Diet, exercise and sleep
She emphasizes that work often needs to be done within the family with changes to both diet and exercise as well as sleep habits to achieve results.
This is supported by a review in Jama Pediatrics, which examined treatment with lifestyle changes, medications, and combinations of these. Lifestyle changes included dietary advice, instructor-led physical activity, and counselling.
The conclusion is that the combination is most effective for weight loss.
For young people who have lost 20-30 kilos, it is much easier to exercise, go to school and be more social. Then you can try to slowly reduce the medication. We notice that a combination where the patient receives individual support to map out their challenges often works well, says Janson.
Can be expensive
Medications for obesity are not included in the benefit and most often families have to pay for them themselves. There are different solutions where certain regions cover the costs specifically for children and young people. Another alternative is to apply for compensation from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency in the form of additional cost compensation, in cases where obesity is considered a disability. During May of this year, such payments had been made for approximately 400 children diagnosed with obesity.
Annika Janson would have liked to see them subsidized for all children with severe obesity.
"Without effective treatment, the children risk becoming heavier and developing serious health problems. It would be more equitable if they received important medicine, just like with other illnesses," she says.
The study is an overview of several studies. A total of 3,835 children and young people between the ages of 10 and 19 with obesity were included.
The treatments included lifestyle changes, medications, and combinations of these. Lifestyle changes included dietary advice, instructor-led physical activity, and counseling.
Lifestyle habits included, for example, dietary advice, instructor-led physical activity and counseling.
The researchers highlight that a weakness of the analysis is that few studies examine the effect of medication alone. Lifestyle changes alone had an effect, but the combination was most effective.
The researchers point out that the follow-up period was short, in most cases between six and 12 months.
Source: JAMA Pediatrics.
