Should weight loss drugs be used to treat obesity in children?

As the number of weight loss drugs on the market has increased, so has confusion about the appropriate time for doctors to suggest someone begins using them – especially when it comes to children. Now, conflicting advice offered by two major US healthcare organisations is muddying the water even more.

Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) shocked people by recommending the use of weight loss medications in children as young as age 12 in an effort to address soaring rates of childhood…