Effective obesity treatments reach few eligible teens, study finds

by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

Sadie Harley

Scientific Editor

Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process

Andrew Zinin

Chief Editor

Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process Editors' notes

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

peer-reviewed publication

trusted source

proofread

The GIST Add to Preferred Sources

Despite the arrival of powerful new anti-obesity medications and growing evidence supporting weight-loss surgery for adolescents, the vast majority of eligible teens are receiving neither treatment, according to a new study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago published in JAMA Pediatrics.

"The motivation behind our paper was to look at the relationship between two exciting developments in the treatment of obesity in adolescence," said first author John B. Rode, a fourth-year resident physician at Lurie Children's. "The first is long-term evidence for the safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery in adolescents, and the other is FDA approval of GLP-1s in this age group."

In the current study, investigators analyzed electronic health records from more than 1.4 million U.S. adolescents who met guideline-based eligibility criteria for metabolic and bariatric surgery between 2017 and 2025.

They found that use of GLP-1s, including semaglutide and liraglutide, increased dramatically during the study period, while rates of bariatric surgery began to decline following the approval of semaglutide for adolescent obesity in late 2022.

The investigators found that bariatric surgery use among eligible adolescents increased steadily from 2017 through 2022, reaching a peak of 189 procedures per 100,000 eligible teens.

"Our study found that while bariatric surgery use increased between 2017 and 2022, it subsequently decreased about 29% through the end of 2025," Rode said. "This decline coincided with the FDA approval of semaglutide for adolescents aged 12 or older with obesity."

At the same time, prescriptions for GLP-1 medications increased sharply. Overall prescribing rates rose from 301 prescriptions per 100,000 eligible adolescents in early 2017 to 10,676 per 100,000 by the end of 2025, a 35-fold increase. Rates were highest among adolescents with the most severe obesity.

However, among the more than 1.4 million adolescents who qualified for bariatric surgery, only 0.39% underwent surgery and 4.6% received at least one GLP-1 prescription during the 2017–2025 study period.

"Our findings suggest that even though we've developed safe and effective treatments for obesity in adolescents, the data indicate that those who qualify likely don't have access to these treatments," Rode said.

Rode and his collaborators also identified disparities in access to GLP-1 medications. By late 2025, privately insured adolescents were prescribed GLP-1 drugs at rates 2.4 times higher than uninsured or self-pay patients and modestly higher than publicly insured patients. Bariatric surgery rates, however, were similar across insurance groups.

The findings raise concerns that newer obesity medications could be widening existing inequities in care, Rode said.

"As rates of childhood obesity continue to rise, further research is needed to understand how GLP-1s might change the landscape of obesity care, including the potential complementary role with metabolic and bariatric surgery," Rode said. "Most importantly, further research is necessary to understand the reasons behind this lack of access to evidence-based treatments, to make sure that patients receive the care that they need."

Justin Ryder, vice chair of research for the Department of Surgery at Lurie Children's and associate professor of surgery and pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, was the senior author on the study.

Publication details

John B. Rode et al., Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Use Among Adolescents, JAMA Pediatrics (2026). DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.4584

Journal information: JAMA Pediatrics

Key medical concepts

Semaglutide

Clinical categories

PediatricsChildren's healthWeight managementClinical pharmacologyGeneral surgery Provided by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Who's behind this story?

Sadie Harley

BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

Citation: Effective obesity treatments reach few eligible teens, study finds (2026, November 11) retrieved 11 November 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-11-effective-obesity-treatments-eligible-teens.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.