To treat obesity in children, task force favors behavioral therapy over drugs like Wegovy
A national advisory organization has come down on the side of behavioral interventions, not obesity medications, to help children 6 and older with high BMI improve their health, wading into the debate over prescribing the blockbusters for kids before their long-term consequences are better understood.
On Tuesday, the United States Preventive Services Task Force issued recommendations encouraging clinicians to provide or refer children and adolescents 6 years or older with a high body mass index to comprehensive, intensive behavioral interventions. That counters last year’s recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics to consider obesity drugs for kids 12 and older whose weight tops growth charts, along with encouraging better nutrition, physical activity, and behavioral therapy from age 6 on up.
