A new BMJ investigation reveals that the American Academy of Pediatrics’ aggressive push to give powerful GLP-1 weight-loss drugs to children is steeped in undisclosed financial ties to the very companies selling them.
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THE TOPLINE
- A BMJ investigation reveals that the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2023 childhood obesity guidelines aggressively promote GLP-1 weight-loss drugs for children, despite undisclosed financial ties to the drugmakers.
- Over 20% of AAP leaders and more than a third of guideline committee members received payments from GLP-1 manufacturers, yet these conflicts of interest were not disclosed in the guidelines.
- The guidelines rely on limited, industry-funded evidence and overlook serious potential risks of GLP-1 drugs, while sidelining safer, lifestyle-based treatments for childhood obesity.
The latest weight-loss craze—GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro—is now shaping the medical guidelines used to treat children. A new BMJ investigation has found that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)’s 2023 childhood obesity guidelines—already controversial for recommending weight-loss drugs for kids as young as eight—are riddled with undisclosed financial ties to the very companies making these injections.
The study’s authors warn that these conflicts, combined with irregularities in how the guidelines were developed, mean parents, doctors, and policymakers should view the AAP’s recommendations with “extreme caution.”
Aggressive Drug-First Approach for Children
The AAP guidelines urge doctors to offer weight-loss drugs to all adolescents over 12 with obesity, and even “consider” prescribing them to children aged 8–11. This goes far beyond other countries—like the UK, Sweden, and Australia—which recommend avoiding such drugs in children under 12 except in rare cases. After the AAP guidelines were released, US prescriptions for anti-obesity drugs in children jumped 38%.
Undisclosed Ties to Drugmakers
The BMJ found systemic conflicts of interest:
- The AAP accepted nearly $2 million in corporate sponsorship from companies developing GLP-1 drugs between 2012 and 2024.
- Over one in five AAP leaders received direct payments from these companies—covering travel, lodging, meals, and in some cases tens of thousands in consulting fees.
- More than a third of the AAP’s own guideline committee members also took payments from GLP-1 manufacturers.
- None of these financial connections were disclosed in the obesity guidelines or technical report. The AAP documents merely state that “any conflicts have been resolved through a process approved by the board of directors”—whose members also received payments from GLP-1 developers.
As the authors note, “financial influence can permeate whole systems of medical governance,” eroding public trust.
Shaky Evidence, Ignored Risks
The guidelines’ endorsement of GLP-1 drugs for teens rests primarily on two industry-funded trials—both still in the recruitment stage at the time of the AAP systematic review—and no trials at all in children under 12. Risks, costs, treatment duration, and stopping strategies were not meaningfully discussed.
This lack of transparency and weak evidence base is especially concerning given the known and emerging risks of GLP-1s: pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, kidney injury, nutrient deficiencies, mood changes, and significant muscle loss—potentially 15–40% of total weight lost. Long-term safety is unknown.
Part of a Larger Trend
These findings fit into a larger pattern we’ve been tracking: the reclassification of obesity as a “chronic disease” by the AMA, FDA, and other bodies, paving the way for a projected $100 billion obesity drug market by 2030. GLP-1s are now being pushed not just for weight loss, but for “preventive” use in people without obesity—potentially putting millions on lifelong injections.
Yet obesity is often a modifiable condition tied to diet, activity, sleep, stress, and environment—not a destiny requiring permanent pharmaceutical management. The danger is that aggressive drug promotion, backed by conflicted guidelines, sidelines proven non-drug approaches that can achieve similar metabolic benefits without the cost or unknown risks.
A Call for Independence and True Informed Consent
The BMJ authors call for independent, non–industry-funded trials of GLP-1 drugs in children and for stronger protections against corporate influence in medical institutions. Until then, parents and patients deserve full transparency—not only about the drugs’ benefits and risks, but also about lifestyle-based alternatives that can improve weight and health naturally, which we’ve discussed previously here.
Before we write prescriptions for life, we should be asking: are we building health—or just building dependence?
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