Should teens be taking Wegovy?

Plus more health news | Email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( [Health Matters]( [What doctors say about semaglutide treatments for teenagers]( By Jamie Ducharme Health Correspondent I often report on teen mental health. So, after the weight-loss drug Wegovy was approved for kids as young as 12 late last year, I wondered if using an appetite suppressant in this still-developing age group could raise the risk of eating disorders and other mental-health concerns. The short answer: it’s not clear yet. There isn't much information about the long-term use of Wegovy—a semaglutide medication, like its sibling drug Ozempic—in adolescents and teenagers, so it’s not certain how it may affect growing minds and bodies over time. The data that are currently available, however, look promising. Wegovy appears to help teens with obesity lose significant weight, potentially preventing or reversing complications and improving life quality. Some doctors did voice concerns about unintended side effects, but most felt Wegovy offered significant-enough benefits to justify its use. “If you were to think about any other condition, where a new medication could change the lives of kids who otherwise had no options, we would not be discussing whether we should use this medication or not,” says Dr. Raquel Hernandez, director of the Healthy Weight Initiative at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. [READ MORE]( Share This Story What Else to Read [What MDMA Taught Me About Human Connection]( By Rachel Nuwer A month or so into COVID lockdown, I had an idea. Why not take a little staycation? Why not take some MDMA, asks Rachel Nuwer. [Read More »]( [How to Talk to Your Kids About Gender]( By Solcyre Burga TIME spoke to experts about how what families need to know about discussing gender with their children at different stages of their youth. [Read More »]( [Why the Diabetes Drug Mounjaro Works So Well for Weight Loss]( By Alice Park The drug is currently being reviewed by the FDA for weight loss. [Read More »]( [How Heat Waves Could Have Long-Term Impacts on Your Health]( By Aryn Baker Extreme heat due to climate change could increase the risk of chronic health problems like kidney disease and obesity. [Read More »]( [Weight Bias Is a Problem in Health Care. Here’s What Doctors Can Do]( By Elizabeth Millard Here’s what doctors can do to address their potential bias. [Read More »]( AN EXPERT QUOTE "People think of forgetting as a deficiency in memory, but it has its own virtues. It cleans out our experience of the world, and allows us to see things more fully unencumbered." —Robert Kraft, professor of cognitive psychology at Otterbein University in Ohio --------------------------------------------------------------- If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, [click here](. Today's newsletter was written by Jamie Ducharme and Angela Haupt, and edited by Elijah Wolfson. [Want more from TIME? Sign up for our other newsletters.]( [Subscribe to TIME]( TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Connect with TIME via [Facebook]( | [Twitter]( | [Newsletters]( [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS]( TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508, Boone, IA 50037-0508 Questions? Contact health@time.com Copyright © 2023 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved.