Children prescribed GLP-1 medications for weight loss, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes face a 16.8% risk of developing nutritional deficiencies within their first year of treatment, according to a study published in the journal Childhood Obesity. Researchers at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago found that vitamin D deficiencies represent the largest share of these cases, impacting 12.4% of young patients within one year of GLP-1 treatment.
Nutritional Risks During Rapid Adolescent Growth
According to Justin Ryder, PhD, Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Surgery at Lurie Children’s Hospital and Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, essential nutrients require careful monitoring during adolescence. “Nutrients such as vitamin D, iron and calcium are of particular concern during adolescence, when deficiencies may have lasting implications for skeletal health and overall development,” Dr. Ryder stated.
The study utilized national administrative claims data spanning from 2017 to 2022 across more than 100 million patients. Researchers isolated a cohort of 2,031 patients aged 10 to 17 years who maintained continuous enrollment and carried no prior diagnoses of nutritional deficiencies before beginning GLP-1 therapy. Within this adolescent group, prescriptions largely centered on liraglutide at 78.6%, followed by dulaglutide at 10.4% and semaglutide at 9.1%.
Gaps in Pediatric Nutritional Counseling
According to the findings published in Childhood Obesity, only 5% of pediatric patients received nutritional counseling within 30 days of initiating a GLP-1 medication. Furthermore, less than 25% obtained dietary guidance within the first six months of treatment.
“We hope that our study findings bring much needed recognition to the importance of proactive nutritional management when GLP-1s are prescribed to children, as opposed to waiting until a nutritional deficiency is diagnosed,” Dr. Ryder explained. “Knowing the risks, we are in a much better position to prevent harm to children treated with GLP-1s during a pivotal period in their lives.”