Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Children and adolescents with a body mass index (BMI) greater than the 98th centile are at an increased risk of complications including cardiovascular and liver disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Currently, lifestyle modification is the first line intervention. Pharmacotherapy, such as liraglutide and semaglutide, has recently been licensed for adolescents greater than 12 years of age. This study aimed to compare the impact of pharmacotherapy and lifestyle modification on body composition.

Methods: Retrospective data was obtained from 103 patients (50F) aged between 6 and 17 years, with a mean age of 14.3 years. Body composition was analysed at baseline and 12 months using a TANITA RD-545HR device, a bioelectrical impedance-based device, providing estimates of weight, percentage fat, fat mass, fat free mass and android fat distribution.

Results: The mean (SD) baseline BMI was 42.05 (8.03) kg/m2 and mean baseline weight was 117 (27.8) kg. The mean % baseline body fat was 50.4 (9.01) and the mean truncal fat was 47.6 (8.8) for the whole cohort (n = 103). 21 patients had follow up data at 12 months (Table 1). The results show a mean change in BMI, % body fat, % trunk fat and the mean percentage changes in fat mass and fat free mass over this time. Pharmacotherapy alongside lifestyle modification was more effective than lifestyle alone in reducing body mass index, total body fat percentage and fat mass after 12 months.Table 1: Change in body composition after 12 months

Discussion: The study highlights the efficacy of using lifestyle modification and adjuvant pharmacotherapy with GLP-1 agonists in the management of childhood obesity. Most patients receiving pharmacotherapy and lifestyle advice achieved reductions in BMI, total body fat percentage, trunk body fat percentage and fat mass after 12 months. Future research would be beneficial to further comprehend the long-term impact of anti-obesity medications.