I want to get Ozempic for my ballooning eight-year-old son and obese teenage daughter. I know people will judge, but I can't cope with the stares at the school gates and the guilt about passing on the 'fat gene'

On a recent visit to the GP, I was accompanied by two of my four children, Helen, 15 and Jake, eight. Neither wanted to be there, not least because they aren’t ill. But what they are is very obviously overweight. I’m sure if I were to use the NHS BMI calculator, they’d both be classified as obese. Helen is 5ft 8in and already in size 18-20 clothes. As for Jake, his school uniform comes from the teenage department.

This is difficult to admit as a middle-class mum, even in these body positive times. No one wants their children to enter the big wide world overweight. That’s why I decided that as a family, we should see the doctor to see if all three of us would be eligible for Ozempic. One of my best friend’s sons is aged 18 and has been on it to treat his diabetes. He started last September and the transformation is remarkable.

He has lost more than 2st and reversed his diabetes. His mum is thrilled and I don’t blame her. If anything, I’m envious of her happiness that her son is now ‘normal’ (and a bit of a hunk) in the eyes of society. I know what it’s like to be viewed as a ‘fatty’ because throughout my adult years I’ve had a complicated relationship with food.

At my slimmest, I was a size 8 – and at my heaviest a heffalump in size 28 dresses. Today, aged 41, I’m a size 18-20 and I’m only 5ft 2in. At my slimmest, I was a size 8 – and at my heaviest a heffalump in size 28 dresses. Today, aged 41, I’m a size 18-20 and I’m only 5ft 2in. The world treats you very differently when you’re slim.

The GP, knowing my history, recognised I needed Ozempic to help me lose weight and tackle the ‘food noise’ I hear constantly. But, as far as the kids were concerned, he said his hands were tied. According to the guidelines he could not currently prescribe – nor even recommend – Ozempic for anyone under 18.

I left in despair if I am honest. While I did take the prescription I was offered for myself, this wasn’t a journey I wanted to go on without the children. I was hoping for a lifestyle change for the three of us. My husband and my other two children, James, 20, and Christian, six, don’t have a weight problem, so what better helping hand could I give to the two that need it?.

Curiously, James and Helen are the children I had with my first husband, while Jake and Christian I had with my second – meaning one child from each father has a weight problem and one doesn’t. So how did I let the middle two get so overweight? I run an animal charity and while life is always hectic, I’m fairly confident that all my children eat the same portion sizes and types of meals.

And I’m certain I’m not the one to blame here – especially as, according to the NHS in 2022, 15 per cent of children aged between two and 15 in the Uk were obese. We can’t all be negligent mothers can we?. So many factors come into play: what the children eat at school, what they order on takeaway apps, what they snack on when out with their friends or when I’m not at home. It’s impossible to keep tabs on every morsel that passes their lips!.

And there must be some sort of genetic link between us which makes us prone to weight gain. So, it’s utterly unfair that my children are destined for a lifetime of difficult-to-manage medical conditions including diabetes and a heightened risk of many cancers.

For my family this isn’t about vanity or fitting into a sample-size dress. I’m concerned that they don’t have access to a potentially life-changing drug when it comes to supporting their health. I find it incredible that even after six years of the drug being available on the NHS – and being prescribed for children over 12 in the US – the government body NICE has yet to officially publish guidance on its use in this age group in the UK.

The best we can hope for is that a two-and-a-half-year-long trial that started last April will result in positive news. The trial, sponsored by Novo Nordisk, makers of Ozempic, involves some 200 overweight children with an obesity-related health problem – either type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure. It is taking place in four hospitals, in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and Liverpool.

One part of the trial will track kids aged 6-12 who are given semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic) and its sister drug, Wegovy. The other will track children up to age 17. The use of weight-loss drugs on youngsters has prompted huge debate in the US. Doctors in favour of giving semaglutide to them see it – as I do – as a way of preventing serious health problems later on in their lives.

Critics argue that we simply don’t know yet what impact weight-loss drugs will have on a growing body. There is some suggestion that such drugs are linked to arthritis and pancreatic problems. Some think they might also trigger anorexia. Despite all that, I’m tempted to get hold of Ozempic privately somehow or other and give it to the children myself.