Amid skyrocketing rates of childhood obesity in the United States, some families are struggling to get their kids the help they need to live healthily, according to a report by Reuters:
“For many U.S. parents seeking help for a child with obesity, the most widely-endorsed treatment is out of reach – and it’s not the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy.
“Leading medical groups recommend intensive behavioral counseling – 26 hours within one year – to teach children and their families practical ways to eat healthier and move more.
“But these programs are not widely available, and wait lists can run for several months. They are often not covered by health insurance and require a time commitment that is difficult for many families to make, according to interviews with more than a dozen doctors and parents.
“As a result, fewer than 1% of the nearly 15 million U.S. children with obesity get this type of structured care, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Reuters. Efforts by the CDC and others to expand insurance coverage have stalled, doctors involved in the process told Reuters.
“‘The coverage for these programs was never good, and we’re not seeing any movement toward improvement,’ said Dr. Joseph Skelton, a professor of pediatrics and an obesity medicine specialist at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
“The prevalence of obesity among U.S. children has steadily increased, from 5% in 1980 to nearly 20% now, according to the CDC.
“Novo Nordisk’s (NOVOb.CO), opens new tab Wegovy was approved for adults in 2021 and for adolescents in late 2022, offering a highly effective way to lose weight for the first time. Novo still cannot meet demand for the drug among adults, with at least 25,000 first-time prescriptions dispensed each week.”
To read the entire article by Reuters, please click HERE.