Every once in a while, you get a news report that serves no other purpose than being an infomercial for Big Pharma. So it is tonight, with NBC’s report pushing trendy weight loss injectable medication as being safe for children.
Watch as the many different layers of conflict of interest unspool before our very eyes:
VICKY NGUYEN: More than 20% of 12 to 19-year-olds are considered obese. Obesity specialists say these meds, along with a healthy lifestyle can be used preventatively to tackle excess weight before it leads to other health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends weight loss drugs be offered to those as young as 12. Dr. Amanda Velazquez is the Director of Obesity Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and a paid consultant for weight loss drug makers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
What do you say to people who say 12 is too young to put a child on a weight loss medication?
DR. AMANDA VELAZQUEZ: Yeah, I think that it's about education for the family, because I think there is a lot of perception about using the medication for really appearances. That's not what we're here to do. What we're here to do is to help your patient, a 12-year-old be healthy.
It bears noting that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), depicted here as promoting these fad drugs to kids as young as 12, is cited as an authority. This is the same AAP that said about “gender-affirming care” for children:
The AAP recommends taking a “gender-affirming,” nonjudgmental approach that helps children feel safe in a society that too often marginalizes or stigmatizes those seen as different. The gender-affirming model strengthens family resiliency and takes the emphasis off heightened concerns over gender while allowing children the freedom to focus on academics…
This is the AAP, which has supported this gender madness for close to six years, now cited as a moral authority on getting kids started on weight-loss drugs. Hard pass.
The doctor cited in the report happens to be a consultant for two of the leading weight-loss medication manufacturers. Of course she said it was OK to put 12-year-olds on these injections.
The biggest omission from the report: there was no doctor brought in to explain the potential risks presented by these drugs, any side effects, and how these may affect children differently. There was no differing viewpoint presented. There were some study citations, but no one with an opposing viewpoint making the case against these injectables.
The second biggest omission: the standard American diet which is forced upon our kids, and the tons of available ultra processed foods which contain such inflammatories as seed oils, food colorings, and sugar. Bad nutrition and lack of movement accounts for much of what ails America today, especially our children, but that would be harmful to Big Pharma.
A cursory review of the ads that air during these network evening newscasts reveals that a significant number of these are for pharmaceutical products. Given that this is the case, what’s another two-minute infomercial?
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on NBC Nightly News on Tuesday, February 20th, 2024:
LESTER HOLT: They're some of the most in demand medications on the market, drugs that help you lose weight. But are they safe for treating obesity in children? Vicky Nguyen now with what parents need to know.
Got two second places and a first place.
VICKY NGUYEN: 16-year-old Demi Buckley never thought about her weight until sixth grade.
DEMI BUCKLEY: I gained 20 pounds that summer.
NGUYEN: She says the extra pounds started to affect her mental health.
BUCKLEY: There was this boy in my class, and he told me to eat a salad or eat nothing.
NGUYEN: A year ago, she started Wegovy.
BUCKLEY: And I'll just put it right in my stomach right there.
NGUYEN: The drug suppresses appetite. Buckley shed 58 pounds. What were some of the things that you did before these medicines to try and lose weight?
BUCKLEY: I've done volleyball, cheer, basketball, marching band. I would do the same workouts as my friends or eat the same way they did.
DEANA BUCKLEY: What parent doesn't want their child to have every opportunity to be as healthy as they can be?
NGUYEN: More than 20% of 12 to 19-year-olds are considered obese. Obesity specialists say these meds, along with a healthy lifestyle can be used preventatively to tackle excess weight before it leads to other health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends weight loss drugs be offered to those as young as 12. Dr. Amanda Velazquez is the Director of Obesity Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and a paid consultant for weight loss drug makers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
What do you say to people who say 12 is too young to put a child on a weight loss medication?
DR. AMANDA VELAZQUEZ: Yeah, I think that it's about education for the family, because I think there is a lot of perception about using the medication for really appearances. That's not what we're here to do. What we're here to do is to help your patient, a 12-year-old be healthy.
NGUYEN: But there are possible side effects like nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Doctors at UC Irvine say they're worried these drugs could affect kids' growth from undereating or be abused by those with eating disorders or in sports. Some also question whether kids need to use these drugs long-term. What do you say to people who think the data is not there, that we don't know the long-term effects for young people?
VELAZQUEZ: Yeah, so these medications I think are reassuring in that they've been around over a decade.
NGUYEN: In a statement, Wegovy's maker Novo Nordisk says its studies found their medicines did not appear to affect growth adding that prescribing an anti-obesity medication is at the discretion of the physician. Demi Buckley says she has benefitted physically and mentally.
BUCKLEY: Now that I'm confident in my body and, like, I can be confident in my mind and that helps me a lot.
NGUYEN: Vicky Nguyen. NBC News, Saginaw, Michigan.
