Kait Handler’s debilitating struggle with food started as a child and it’s still something that haunts her to this day.
So when the yo-yo dieter noticed that her own daughter Birdie was beginning to develop the same weight issues at age eight, the New York-based mom took action to prevent things from spiraling.
For starters, Kait kept a close eye on what Birdie ate. When that didn’t work, she enrolled her in therapy and encouraged her to walk more.
When the weight continued to pile up, she enrolled Birdie in a weight-loss camp.
But when Birdie turned 12 and was in the 98th percentile for her weight among children her age, making her clinically obese, Kait realized more drastic action was needed.
The 40-year-old told the WSJ that she started experimenting with weight-loss drugs herself, taking a compounded version of tirzepatide (the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound), which helped her lose 70 pounds (34 kg).
Then she came up with the idea that the same kind of medicine might work for Birdie, who, at 6 feet tall, weighed 175 pounds at her heaviest.
After being turned down by a doctor, Kait made an appointment with Mochi — the telehealth obesity clinic she initially joined to get weight loss medications.
Kait Handler’s grueling struggle with food started as a child. So when she noticed her daughter Birdie was developing the same feeding problems, she tried different methods
After a virtual consultation, Birdie was prescribed the compound semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic.
Kait defended her decision to introduce her young daughter to weight-loss drugs, saying: ‘She struggles with her self-esteem and this could alleviate those issues.
“Why not give her the tools she needs to do that?”
And it turns out Kait isn’t the only one encouraging her child to take weight-loss drugs.
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A report from researchers at the University of Michigan and Yale shows that the number of monthly scripts for GLP-1 drugs, which includes Wegovy, among 12- to 15-year-olds increased from 8,700 in 2020 to 60,000 in 2023 – an increase of almost 600 percent.
That was fueled by the FDA’s approval of Wegovy for weight loss in children over 12 years old in late 2022, giving pediatrics a new tool to use in obese children who can’t maintain a healthy weight.
Birdie was prescribed a compounded version of the drug containing the active ingredient semaglutide, which was cheaper than the branded version.
In total, Birdie’s Mochi membership cost $79 per month, with another $99 per month for the medication.
Since taking compounded semaglutide, the teenager has lost 4.5kg, which is on top of the 7.5kg she lost during a weight-loss camp. This now places her in the 94th percentile.
She praised the weight-loss drugs, which initially worried her, and concluded: “When I look at myself, I don’t feel as ashamed as I used to.”
“The happier I become, the sadder I will be when I’m no longer happy.”
Meanwhile, Birdie’s father said weight loss medications have helped reduce family stress.
He says this is because “the drug has eased the friction that arises between parents and children when it comes to weight battles, eliminating the need for emotional discussions about food.”
Birdie said she had no significant side effects from the medication, just “mild nausea” and that her appetite was easier to control.
But Dr. Joyce Lee, a University of Michigan pediatrician and diabetes expert who led the said study, noted that some young people report extreme nausea, vomiting or constipation, including symptoms so severe that they stop taking the medications.
More than 60,000 children and young adults aged 12 to 25 were prescribed weight-loss drugs in the first year Ozempic was approved, according to figures released earlier this year
It’s important to understand the rising use of these drugs in young people, Lee said.
The drugs are intended for ongoing 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 are 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 the drugs used by people aged 18 to 25, it found from the research.
Commercial insurance covered care for nearly 44 percent of younger children and about two-thirds of older children.
Because Kait couldn’t afford brand-name weight loss drugs, which can cost more than $1,000 a month, she turned to the cheaper compounded version for Birdie.
According to the CDC, about 20 percent of American children and adolescents and about 42 percent of adults have the chronic disease.
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 medications, if warranted.