Impact of GLP-1 drugs on growth, developing brains unknown
UCI Health pediatrician Dr. Dan Cooper stresses need for independent studies
IN THE NEWS: While adults increasingly turn to GLP-1 medications to help with weight loss, their lasting impact on adolescents needs more study, according to Dr. Dan Cooper, a pediatrician with UCI Health.
He told the Orange County Register that while these medications can help kids lose weight, important questions remain unanswered.
“What is the long-term effect of a drug occupying major receptors in the brain as the brain is developing?”
“What’s the long-term consequence? I think this is a really important point. We don’t know. We haven’t done the right study in children yet.”
He also touched on the need for independent studies, not funded by the manufacturers of the GLP-1 medications, to truly understand the long-term impact on kids.
“Anyone who says with certainty that potential long-term effects of these drugs in children or adolescents does not understand the power of these medications and their potential for altering growth and development of behavior, metabolism and physiology.”
Ultimately, the medications can be helpful for some adolescents – but data still indicates that in many cases, a healthy weight can be achieved through regular exercise and lifestyle changes, such as diet.
Cooper is a pediatrician who sees patients at UCI Health Pediatric Services. He is also a Distinguished Professor of pediatrics at the UC Irvine School of Medicine, the associate director of the UC Irvine Institute for Clinical and Translational Science and interim director of the UC Irvine Institute for Precision Health.
His research seeks to understand the role of physical activity and exercise in the growth and development of children and adolescents in both health and disease, especially in those with chronic conditions like asthma, cystic fibrosis, obesity, heart disease and metabolic syndromes.
He is the lead author of Unintended consequences of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists medication in children and adolescents: A call to action, a commentary about the risks of weight-loss drugs for children, including an increased risk of suicidal ideation. It was published in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science in August 2023.
He leads the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium, which will assess the molecular changes that occur in response to physical activity in children and adolescents as well as adults.
About UCI Health
UCI Health, one of California’s largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The 1,317-bed system comprises its main campus UCI Medical Center, its flagship hospital in Orange, Calif., the UCI Health — Irvine medical campus, four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and a network of ambulatory care centers across the region. UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to the only Orange County-based National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).