More children under 12 in US are being prescribed weight-loss drugs, study finds

Children living in higher-income communities were 55% more likely to be prescribed the medicines, suggesting emerging disparities in access, according to the study published in the journal Pediatrics.

"Physicians and health policymakers alike have a responsibility to ensure ... these valuable and sometimes costly treatments become available to more than those who have access to health insurance and can afford to visit pediatric clinics," said Allan Massie, co-author of the study and associate professor of surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Researchers used Epic Cosmos, a national electronic health records database encompassing more than 300 million U.S. patients. Epic had no role in the study.