Twenty Percent of Eligible Youth Prescribed GLP-1 Receptor Agonists

WEDNESDAY, March 4, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Twenty percent of potentially eligible youth are prescribed glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), with the odds of prescription higher with increasing age, increasing body mass index (BMI), and non-Hispanic White or Hispanic race and ethnicity, according to a study published online March 2 in Pediatrics.

Emily F. Gregory, M.D., from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study involving youth aged 12 to 17 years with BMI ≥95th percentile for age and sex. GLP-1 RA prescription patterns and barriers to treatment were described.

The researchers found that 325 of the 1,647 youth (20 percent) had one or more GLP-1 RA prescriptions. With increasing age, increasing BMI, abnormal laboratory testing results, and non-Hispanic White or Hispanic race and ethnicity (versus non-Hispanic Black), the odds of prescription increased. On chart review of 102 youth with GLP-1 RA prescriptions, 65 youth (64 percent) experienced GLP-1 RA interruptions, most often related to cost and insurance coverage.

“We found that GLP-1 RAs prescribing was modest compared to potential eligibility in our network and focused on older youth with more severe obesity and more comorbidities,” the authors write. “Even among youth prescribed GLP-1 RAs, multiple factors interfered with efficient achievement and maintenance of treatment.”

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