While the GLP1 weight-loss drugs from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are the drug industry's biggest sellers, they aren't yet approved for one of the globe's most troubling obesity groups: children.

Monday, Novo announced successful results from a Phase 3 study of its injectable GLP1 drug Wegovy in obese children aged six to 12. All 165 children who began the 16-month trial were severely obese.

By the end, 40% of those treated with Wegovy, diet and exercise were no longer classified as obese, compared with none of those who received placebo injections. No safety effects on growth or puberty appeared. Novo Nordisk said it would present detailed results from the study at The Obesity Society's meeting in Washington, D.C., between Nov. 14 and 17.

Obese children can suffer from cardiovascular problems, depression, and eating disorders. They often remain obese in adulthood, when they can go on to develop diabetes and heart disease. Some 175 million young people under the age of 19 around the world were living with obesity in 2025, according to the World Obesity Federation.

Novo sales of Wegovy and its diabetes counterpart Ozempic were $17.5 billion in this year's first half, while Lilly's sales of its GLP1 drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro were nearly $28 billion.

None of those GLP1s are yet approved for those under 12. Results like those from Novo's latest study could help persuade regulators to allow sales to the growing population of children with weight problems.

Reporting on this story was provided by Mackenzie Tatananni