Doctors have issued stark warnings over weight loss jabs available in the UK in the aftermath of a Channel 4 documentary showed under 18s able to buy the prescription medication from UK high street retailer Boots with a fake date of birth.
Airing on Channel 4 on Tuesday night (4 March), Skinny Jab Scandal: Dispatches follows investigative journalist Ellie Flynn as she works with underage schoolgirls to show how easy it is to buy the weight loss jab Wegovy; a prescription medication that helps adults manage their weight by reducing appetite and cravings.
Wegovy is the brand name for drug semaglutide. The same drug is also offered to people under the brand Ozempic.
It is available on the NHS to those under the age of 18 but Boots itself does not offer it to those under that age. The documentary followed a shocked Flynn working with a 16-year-old girl who was able to buy it twice with a fake date of birth that was not challenged, with no proof of age asked for.
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Making an online referral with all her real details except birth date, staff at Boots did not contact her GP when prescribing the drug.
Now, speaking to LADbible, numerous doctors have stressed the dangers of this situation in a real world environment, where semaglutide is bought by young people who do not have a prescription for it.
Dr Alasdair Scott, science director at Selph, said that one major consideration when prescribing Wegovy is that 'children are still growing'.
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"Achieving a high bone density and muscle mass is critical for long-term health. This is because we have the most capacity for building muscle mass and bone density in our late teens and early twenties," Dr Scott explained.
"Failure to achieve a high peak means people have less reserve when muscle mass and bone density start to decline (from our 40s) which can then lead to osteoporosis and frailty.
"Good nutrition is key to building muscle and bone and there have been reports of reduced muscle mass and bone density in children taking GLP-1 agonists such as Wegovy."
On top of that, Dr Scott said the drug 'doesn’t seem to work well in about one in four children... because the hormonal changes that occur around puberty mean that the main mechanism by which Wegovy works, reducing hunger, is less effective'.
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Dr Daniel Atkinson, clinical lead at Treated.com said that while semaglutide is becoming 'more widely used' to combat childhood obesity, a prescription is vital - especially in those formative years.
"It’s common to gain weight during adolescence while you’re still growing," Dr Atkinson said. "Unfortunately, social media culture can sometimes skew ideas about how we ‘should’ look, and what is and isn’t a healthy weight.
"This pressure can drive people towards trying to lose weight when they don’t need to."
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Dr Olalekan Otulana, a GP and physician based at Watford based alcohol and drug rehab unit Cassiobury Court, explained that unregulated access to these drugs at a young age 'can also contribute to long-term disordered eating behaviours and an unhealthy relationship with food'.
"The real issue is misuse," the doctor explained. "If underage people are able to access these injections without a proper medical assessment, dosage guidance, or even simple monitoring, there is a very real & serious risk to their health.
"Weight management should always be approached and tailored to individual, with professional guidance/a balanced diet, and physical activity, not through these quick avenues that may have unintended consequences."
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On the issue highlighted in the documentary, a Boots spokesperson said: "Patient safety is our number one priority. We always strive to provide a high quality of care to patients including those whose weight is impacting their health.
"Following publication of the updated General Pharmaceutical Council guidance, we have strengthened our ID policy to only accept official photographic ID. We will further review our processes in consultation with GPhC and Care Quality Commission.
"We urge people not to falsify their health information to obtain any prescription medicine."
Qualified nurses are allowed to prescribe weight-loss injections. The drugs are only licensed for use by those with a BMI over 30 or those with a BMI of 27 who have certain health conditions. The Nursing and Midwifery code of practice says nurses should check that drugs ‘serve a person’s health needs’ before prescribing.
You can stream Skinny Jab Scandal: Dispatches on the Channel 4 app or website.
Topics: UK News, TV, Documentaries, Channel 4, Food And Drink, Health, NHS
Tom Earnshaw