Kait Handler’s debilitating battle with food started as a child and it is still something that haunts her to this day.
So when the yo-yo dieter noticed her own daughter Birdie started developing the same issues around her weight at the age of eight, the New York-based mom took action to prevent things from spiraling.
To start, Kait monitored what Birdie was eating more closely, when that didnt’ work she enrolled her in therapy, encouraged her to walk more.
When the weight kept piling on, she signed Birdie up for a weight loss-camp.
But when Birdie hit 12 and was in the 98th percentile for weight among children her age, making her clinically obese, Kait realized that more drastic action was needed.
The 40-year-old told the WSJ that had started experimenting with weight loss medication herself, taking a compounded version of tirzepatide (the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound), which saw her lose 75lbs (34kg).
That’s when she had the idea that same kind of drugs could work for Birdie, who at 5ft 1in, weighed 161.5lbs (73kg) at her heaviest.
After being turned away by one doctor, Kait made an appointment with Mochi – the telehealth obesity clinic that she had initially joined herself to get weight loss meds.
Following a virtual consultation, Birdie was prescribed with compounded semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic.
Defending her decision to introduce her young daughter to weight loss meds, Kait said: ‘She’s struggling with her own self-worth and this could alleviate those issues.
‘Why wouldn’t I give her the tool that she would need to do that?’
And it turns out Kait is not alone in encouraging her child to take weight loss drugs.
A report by researchers at the University of Michigan and Yale revealed monthly scripts for GLP-1 drugs, which also included Wegovy, in 12 to 15-year-olds shot up from 8,700 in 2020 to 60,000 in 2023 – an almost 600 percent increase.
That was fueled by the approval of Wegovy for weight loss in children over age 12 by the FDA in late 2022 – giving another tool for pediatrics to use with obese children who cannot maintain a healthy weight.
Birdie was prescribed a compound version of the drug that contained its active ingredient, semaglutide, which was cheaper than the brand version.
In total, Birdie’s Mochi membership cost $79 a month, with an additional $99 a month fee for the medication.
Since taking compounded semaglutide, the teenager has lost 10lbs (4.5kg), which adds to the 17lbs (7.5kg) she lost at a weight loss camp. This now puts her in the 94th percentile.
She praised the weight loss drugs, which she was apprehensive about at first, concluding: ‘When I look at myself, I don’t have as much shame as I did before.
‘The happier I get, the sadder I’ll be when I’m not happy anymore.’
Meanwhile, Birdie’s father said weight loss drugs have helped to reduce family stress.
He says this is because ‘the drug has eased the friction that tends to develop between parents and children over weight battles, removing the need for emotional discussions about eating’.
Birdie said she had no notable side effects from the medication, just ‘mild nausea’ and her appetite became easier to control.
But Dr Joyce Lee, a University of Michigan pediatrician and diabetes expert who led the research mentioned, noted that some young people report extreme nausea, vomiting or constipation, including symptoms so serious that they stop the drugs.
It’s important to understand the surging use of these medications in young people, Lee said.
The drugs are meant for continuing use, so ‘we really need to think about the long-term safety and effectiveness of these medications for this population,’ she said.
In addition, the drugs are expensive and often difficult to obtain, either because of supply problems or because they’re not covered by insurance.
Notably, government-run Medicaid plans paid for nearly half of the GLP-1 drugs prescribed to 12 to 17-year-olds and about a quarter of those used by people aged 18 to 25, the research found.
Commercial insurance covered care for nearly 44 percent of the younger kids and about two-thirds of those who were older.
Because Kait couldn’t afford brand name weight loss drugs, which can cost more than $1,000 a month, she turned to the less-expensive compounded version for Birdie.
About 20 percent of US children and adolescents and about 42 percent of adults have the chronic disease, according to the CDC.
In early 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that children and teens with obesity be evaluated early and treated aggressively, including with surgery and medication if warranted.