Researchers have suggested approximately 1,300 young people could now be taking anti-obesity drugs every year.
As the drugs are only for adult use, this indicates family GP’s are providing them to youngsters off-license.
The study, published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, analysed the use of orlistat (Xenical), sibutramine (Reductil) and rimonabant (Acomplia) in young people under the age of 18.
Statistics came from prescribing data from the UK General Practice Research Database between January 1 1999, and December 31 2006.
In total, 452 children or young people were provided with 1,334 prescriptions in the scrutinized period, and the prevalence of the drugs increased 15-fold among boys and girls.
The majority of prescriptions written were for 14-year-olds, with the exception of 25 which were provided for children under the age of 12.
In 78.4 per cent of cases the prescriptions were for Orlistat with just one patient being prescribed rimonabant.
Approximately 45% of the young people only took orlistat for one month, which was mirrored for 25% of those on sibutramine.
It was suggested that the standard length of use with orlistat was three months and four months with sibutramine.
Russell Viner, an authors of the study, said, “It’s possible that the drugs are being given inappropriately, or that they have excessive side effects that make young people discontinue their use.
“On the other hand, they could be expecting the drugs to deliver a miracle ‘quick fix’ and stop using them when sudden, rapid weight loss does not occur.”
Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), published in December 2006, stated that the medications should be used as a last resort after diet, exercise and behavioural approaches had failed.
“Drug treatment is not generally recommended for children younger than 12 years,” the guidance said.
“In children aged 12 years and older, treatment with orlistat or sibutramine is recommended only if physical comorbidities (such as orthopaedic problems or sleep apnoea) or severe psychological comorbidities are present.”
Study author Ian Wong advised that children who are prescribed orlistat could require additional help and should be ensured in advance of the possible side effects, which include diarrhoea if fat intake is not cut.
He said, “The key thing is that the drug itself is not the answer. Kids should only be using it as part of a comprehensive weight-loss programme.”
However the researchers suggest that there is a slim occurrence of any damage resulting from taking the drugs after short-term clinical trials did not reveal any life-threatening side-effects in young people.
“Prescribing of unlicensed anti-obesity drugs in children and adolescents has dramatically increased in the past eight years,” they said.
“The majority are rapidly discontinued before patients can see weight benefit, suggesting they are poorly tolerated or poorly efficacious when used in the general population.
“Further research into the effectiveness and safety of anti-obesity drugs in clinical populations of children and adolescents is needed.”
