A new study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has found out that teens are missing out on powerful new anti-obesity medications.
The study, which was published in JAMA Pediatrics, also revealed that despite there being growing evidence supporting weight-loss surgery for adolescents, a majority of eligible teens are not receiving it.
John B. Rode, MD, MS, first author, a fourth-year resident physician at Lurie Children’s, revealed that the motivation behind their paper was to look at the “relationship between two exciting developments in the treatment of obesity in adolescence.”
“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,” he added.
What Did the Study Find?
The study’s investigators reportedly analyzed electronic health records from more than 1.4 million adolescents in the U.S. who met guideline-based eligibility criteria for metabolic and bariatric surgery between 2017 and 2025.
It was discovered that the use of GLP-1s, including semaglutide and liraglutide, increased dramatically while the study was being conducted. Notably, in late 2022, the rates of bariatric surgery began to decline after the approval of semaglutide for adolescent obesity.
The study found that the use of bariatric surgery among eligible adolescents increased steadily from 2017 through 2022 and reached a peak of 189 procedures per 100,000 eligible teens.
Dr. Rode detailed the study, adding, “Our study found that while bariatric surgery use increased between 2017 and 2022, it subsequently decreased about 29 percent through the end of 2025.”
It was also discovered that prescriptions for GLP-1 medications saw a significant increase, with overall prescribing rates rising from 301 prescriptions in early 2017 to 10,676 by the end of 2025, both calculated per 100,000 eligible adolescents. It notably saw a massive 35-fold increase.
How Did the Researchers Identify Disparities In Access To Medications?
“We found that nine out of 10 adolescents who qualified for bariatric surgery received neither treatment throughout the whole study period between 2017 and 2025,” Dr. Rode revealed.
He claimed that even though they were able to develop safe and effective treatments for obesity in adolescents, the data from their study indicated that those teens who qualify likely don’t have access to these treatments.
The study revealed that although 1.4 million adolescents qualified for bariatric surgery, less than 1 percent underwent surgery and only 4.6 percent received at least one GLP-1 prescription at the time of the study.
Dr. Rode also identified some disparities in access to GLP-1 medications. By late 2025, the study discovered that privately insured adolescents were prescribed GLP-1 drugs at higher rates. The findings notably raised concerns.
“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,” he added.
