Certain drugs that have been prescribed to children are not proving to be an effective form of obesity treatment, according to new research.
The study, carried out at University College London, established in 1826, indicated that children and adolescents are being prescribed drugs for obesity, but then they stop using them before the drugs have time to have an effect.
Dr Ian Wong, one of the study's authors, says that more guidance needs to be offered so that patients understand that their fat intake has to go down while they take such drugs, otherwise there can be unpleasant side-effects.
"The key thing is that the drug itself is not the answer. Kids should only be using it as part of a comprehensive weight-loss programme," he said.
The article, published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, also highlighted that prescriptions of adult obesity drugs to young people had increased 15-fold between 1999 and 2006.
