Can metformin reduce obesity in children and adolescents?

New Rochelle, NY, February 18, 2020–A new study has shown metformin – a glucose-lowering drug commonly used to treat diabetes – to be effective at lowering some measures of obesity in children and adolescents. The results of a systematic review and meta-analysis are published in Childhood Obesity, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Click here to read the full-text article free on the Childhood Obesity website through March 18, 2020.

The article entitled “Metformin Therapy Reduces Obesity Indices in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials” was coauthored by Alireza Milajerdi, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Iran) and colleagues from Tehran University of Medical Sciences and University of Utah (Salt Lake City). The researchers searched the medical literature for randomized clinical trials that examined the effects of metformin use on obesity measures in children and adolescents. Overall, they found significant reductions in body mass index (BMI), body weight, waist circumference, and fat mass, but not in lean body mass. However, the reductions in BMI and waist circumference were not significant in the youngsters who were overweight or obese.

“Metformin, a pharmaceutical, has been a staple in the treatment of diabetes. Some have been interested in whether this pharmaceutical might also reduce body fat,” says Childhood Obesity Editor-in-Chief Tom Baranowski, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. “Alereza Sadeghi and colleagues found 38 articles that tested this relationship among children and adolescents. Their important findings need to be explored in additional research, especially why metformin did not affect adiposity in some groups. These findings could be an early step in establishing the clinical use of metformin for weight management in children.””

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Childhood Obesity is a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal, published in print and online, and the journal of record for all aspects of communication on the broad spectrum of issues and strategies related to weight management and obesity prevention in children and adolescents. Led by Editor-in-Chief Tom Baranowski, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, and Editor Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children & Harvard Medical School, the Journal provides authoritative coverage of new weight management initiatives, early intervention strategies, nutrition, clinical studies, comorbid conditions, health disparities and cultural sensitivity issues, community and public health measures, and more. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Childhood Obesity website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative medical and biomedical peer-reviewed journals, including Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, Population Health Management, Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT), and Journal of Women’s Health. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, newsmagazines, and books is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.