Novo Nordisk is testing Ozempic in children aged 6 to 12 as weight loss treatment

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is studying whether semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, can be used in children aged six to 12, writes De Tijd.

Novo Nordisk is studying whether injections of 2.4 mg of semaglutide are a safe and effective weight loss treatment for overweight children. The trial is being conducted in 10 countries and aims to enrol 210 children with a body mass index above a certain threshold. 

In Belgium, the Step Young research programme is under way at university hospitals in Brussels, Leuven and Antwerp.

Karolien Van De Maele, coordinator of the multidisciplinary obesity team at Antwerp University Hospital, is pleased with the study. "In young people with a very high BMI, achieving sufficient results with exercise and diet alone is difficult," she said.

Losing weight faster with semaglutide may give children extra motivation, she told De Tijd. She also sees long-term benefits, including a reduced risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

^{© JOEL SAGET / AFP}

Related news

Supermarkets have imbalance in healthy and unhealthy foods, study shows

According to a study by public health institute Sciensano, the average Flemish supermarket has a poor balance of healthy and unhealthy foods in...

belganewsagency.eu

Use of diabetes drug against obesity threatens shortage in Belgian supplies

Doctors in Belgium are being urged to stop prescribing Ozempic - which regulates blood sugar levels - to people without diabetes, as there is an...

belganewsagency.eu