Use of Liraglutide in Children Aged 6 to 12 Years With Severe Obesity

May 10, 2026 updated by: Louise Cominato, University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

Efficacy, Metabolic and Cardiovascular Effects of Liraglutide in Children Aged 6-12 Years With Severe Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial With Advanced Echocardiographic Assessment

This randomized controlled trial evaluates the efficacy, safety, metabolic, and cardiovascular effects of liraglutide in children aged 6 to 12 years with severe obesity. Participants are randomized to receive liraglutide plus lifestyle intervention or lifestyle intervention alone for 6 months. In addition to primary outcomes related to weight loss and metabolic improvement, a predefined subgroup analysis evaluates cardiovascular function in participants receiving liraglutide using advanced echocardiographic techniques, including speckle-tracking-derived myocardial deformation parameters.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Childhood obesity is associated with early structural and functional cardiac alterations, including subclinical myocardial dysfunction. Conventional echocardiographic parameters may not detect early changes.

This is a prospective, randomized, controlled, open-label clinical trial including children aged 6-12 years with severe obesity (BMI Z-score ≥ +3). Participants are randomized to receive liraglutide plus lifestyle intervention or lifestyle intervention alone.

Participants are followed for 6 months with clinical, laboratory, imaging, and functional assessments.

In addition to the primary randomized comparison, a predefined longitudinal subgroup analysis is conducted in participants receiving liraglutide to assess cardiovascular effects using advanced echocardiographic techniques, including speckle-tracking analysis of left ventricular global longitudinal strain and left atrial reservoir strain.

This study was registered retrospectively because participant enrollment began prior to trial registration due to administrative reasons. The study protocol and outcomes were defined prior to participant inclusion.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Brazil
    • São Paulo
      • São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 05403-000
        • Childrens Institute - University of Sao Paulo

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children aged 6-12 years
  • BMI Z-score ≥ +3
  • Previous unsuccessful lifestyle intervention

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe chronic diseases
  • Cardiac disease
  • Dermatological contraindication
  • Use of interfering medications

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Liraglutide + Lifestyle Intervention

Participants receive liraglutide with dose escalation (0.6 mg to 3.0 mg daily) plus lifestyle intervention.

Intervention:

Drug: Liraglutide Behavioral: Lifestyle intervention
Drug: Liraglutide (Saxenda) 6Mg/Ml Inj Pen 3Ml
Liraglutide administered as a once-daily subcutaneous injection, starting at 0.6 mg and titrated weekly up to 3.0 mg or maximum tolerated dose, for 6 months, combined with lifestyle intervention.
No Intervention: Lifestyle Intervention Alone
Participants receive standard multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention without pharmacological treatment.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Body Mass Index (BMI)
Time Frame: 6 months
Body mass index (BMI) will be calculated as body weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (kg/m²). BMI will be assessed at baseline and after 6 months using standardized anthropometric measurements.
6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) measured by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography
Time Frame: 6 months
LV-GLS will be obtained by transthoracic echocardiography using two-dimensional speckle-tracking analysis according to current American Society of Echocardiography recommendations. Measurements will be expressed as percentage (%) and evaluated at baseline and after 6 months.
6 months
Change in left atrial reservoir strain (LASr) measured by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography
Time Frame: 6 months
LASr will be obtained from apical four-chamber views using two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography and expressed as percentage (%). Measurements will be performed at baseline and after 6 months according to current American Society of Echocardiography recommendations
6 months
Change in fasting plasma glucose
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Fasting plasma glucose levels will be measured from venous blood samples and expressed in mg/dL. Changes between baseline and 6 months will be evaluated.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in fasting insulin levels
Time Frame: 6 months
Fasting insulin levels will be measured from venous blood samples and expressed in µIU/mL. Changes between baseline and 6 months will be evaluated
6 months
Change in triglyceride levels
Time Frame: 6 months
Serum triglyceride levels will be measured from venous blood samples and expressed in mg/dL. Changes between baseline and 6 months will be evaluated.
6 months
Change in total cholesterol levels
Time Frame: 6 months
Total cholesterol levels will be measured from venous blood samples and expressed in mg/dL. Changes between baseline and 6 months will be evaluated.
6 months
Change in HDL cholesterol levels
Time Frame: 6 months
HDL cholesterol levels will be measured from venous blood samples and expressed in mg/dL. Changes between baseline and 6 months will be evaluated.
6 months
Change in LDL cholesterol levels
Time Frame: 6 months
LDL cholesterol levels will be measured from venous blood samples and expressed in mg/dL. Changes between baseline and 6 months will be evaluated.
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Louise Cominato, PI, University of Sao Paulo
  • Study Chair: Natalia Bernardes, SI, University of Sao Paulo

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 30, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 22, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 10, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 15, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 10, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 74225723.4.0000.0068

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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