Popular weight-loss and diabetes medications linked to lower risk of some cancers, study finds

THERE HAS BEEN A FRENZY, OF COURSE, OVER DRUGS THAT HAVE SHOWN DRAMATIC SUCCESS HELPING PEOPLE LOSE WEIGHT. BUT HOW IS THAT DEMAND IMPACTING OUR KIDS HERE WITH SOME INSIGHT, AS DOCTOR SCOTT HADLAND, CHIEF OF YOUNG ADULT MEDICINE AT MASS GENERAL FOR CHILDREN, GREAT TO SEE YOU, DOCTOR HADLAND. GOOD. GOOD TO SEE YOU TOO. THANKS FOR COMING IN. ALL RIGHT. SO IT SEEMS LIKE THESE ADS, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. DRUGS LIKE OZEMPIC WEGOVY. WHAT KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS ARE YOU HAVING WITH KIDS AND PARENTS ABOUT THIS TREND? LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS. THESE MEDICATIONS ARE CALLED GLP ONE AGONISTS. THEY’VE BEEN AROUND FOR QUITE SOME TIME FOR TREATMENT OF DIABETES, BUT ONLY MORE RECENTLY HAVE BEEN USED TO TREAT KIDS WHO WHO HAVE SORT OF EXCESS WEIGHT OR MIGHT MEET CERTAIN CRITERIA. AND THE MAIN MEDICATION THAT’S APPROVED FOR KIDS 12 AND UP IS WEGOVY. AND WEGOVY IS A MEDICATION THAT I GET SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT. AND SO WHAT FAMILIES WANT TO KNOW IS, IS THIS MEDICATION APPROPRIATE FOR MY CHILD? AND IT’S A REALLY AN INDIVIDUALIZED CONVERSATION THAT WE NEED TO HAVE BECAUSE THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS, RIGHT. THIS IS ONE TOOL IN OUR TOOL BELT. WE ALSO KNOW THAT WEIGHT LOSS APPROACHES, INCLUDING LIKE DIET AND EXERCISE, CAN BE REALLY EFFECTIVE. THERE ARE OTHER MEDICATIONS AVAILABLE TOO, SO WE’RE HAVING LOTS OF RICH CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT IS THE RIGHT APPROACH FOR A CHILD WHO MIGHT BE STRUGGLING. WELL. AND WE ALL KNOW IN TEEN YEARS, BODY IMAGE CAN BE CRITICAL. AND OF COURSE, MAYBE SOME TEENS, YOU KNOW, OBESITY IS A HEALTH ISSUE, BUT OTHERS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT ISN’T. SO HOW DO YOU KIND OF NAVIGATE THOSE DIFFICULT WATERS? YEAH, I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR US TO DO IS REALLY FOCUS ON HEALTH RATHER THAN WEIGHT. AND SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION HAVE BEEN GUILTY FOR A LONG TIME OF FOCUSING ON NUMBERS, FOCUSING ON SOMEBODY’S WEIGHT, ON THEIR BODY MASS INDEX OR BMI. BUT WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO BE DOING IS FOCUSING, FOCUSING ON SOMEBODY’S HEALTH AND THEIR WELL-BEING AND HOW THEY’RE FEELING. AND, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE LOTS OF KIDS WITH ABOVE AVERAGE WEIGHTS WHO ARE VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY. AND SO BECAUSE THEY HAVE GREAT WELL-BEING, WE DON’T NEED TO MAKE A CHANGE. THERE. BUT, YOU KNOW, ON THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, THERE ARE SOME KIDS WHO ARE UNDERWEIGHT AND THAT CAN BE UNHEALTHY TOO. AND SO WHEN WE FOCUS ON HEALTH AND WHEN WE FOCUS ON WELL-BEING RATHER THAN NUMBERS, THAT’S REALLY WHERE WE’RE HITTING THE SWEET SPOT. I WANT TO ASK YOU SOMETHING ABOUT THESE MEDICATIONS. SO YOU SAY WEGOVY IS APPROVED FOR 12 AND UP. BUT THESE ADS KIND OF INDICATE THAT ONCE YOU GO ON IT, YOU GOT TO STAY ON IT. IS THAT THE CASE TOO? LIKE IF YOU GO ON A MEDICATION AT 12, 13, 14, YOU HAVE TO STAY ON IT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. YEAH, I THINK THAT’S WHY WE NEED TO BE HAVING THESE CAREFUL CONVERSATIONS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WEGOVY IS A ONCE WEEKLY INJECTION, WHICH IS NOT EASY FOR ALL KIDS TO DO, RIGHT? WE KNOW KIDS DON’T NECESSARILY LIKE NEEDLES, AND THIS IS A MEDICATION THAT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN IF YOU STOP TAKING IT, MOST PEOPLE WILL REGAIN MOST OF THE WEIGHT THAT THEY LOST. AND SO AT THIS POINT, WE ARE SORT OF TREATING THESE AS MEDICATIONS THAT PEOPLE NEED TO BE ON IN THE LONG TERM. SO WE NEED TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION UP FRONT BEFORE WE START THE MEDICATION. OKAY. IMPORTANT