Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics made news by recommending statin drugs and cholesterol-screenings for at-risk children ages 2 to 19 years old.

Now a new study shows that hundreds of thousands of children are already taking cholesterol-lowering drugs or medications to treat diabetes, high blood pressure, or acid reflux - all conditions related to obesity.

Three major drug companies estimated that about 1 percent of their sales of such drugs are for pediatric patients. The number of children taking them could be as high as 4 million.

The biggest increase is in children being treated for Type 2 diabetes, with drug usage increasing 137 percent in seven years.

Dr. Francine Kaufman, a pediatric endocrinologist in Los Angeles, said, "Children deserve to be treated. I think the slant from most of the media is that pediatricians are jumping to put kids on medications. That's not true at all. Since lifestyle is so difficult, we have no other choice but to go to pharmacotherapy."

Labels: anti-obesity, medications, pills