A popular weight-loss drug called semaglutide may work well for shedding pounds, but researchers are now warning that it might cause some people—especially older adults and women—to lose too much muscle.
This could be a problem for long-term health. Luckily, eating more protein might help protect your muscles while using this medicine.
Semaglutide is a drug that helps people lose weight by making them feel less hungry and by slowing down how fast food leaves the stomach. It copies the actions of a natural hormone in the body and is often used by people with obesity or type 2 diabetes.
Many people lose weight quickly on semaglutide. However, doctors and scientists are starting to worry about how much muscle people lose along with fat.
Losing weight can often lead to muscle loss. That’s not new. But losing too much muscle is not good for your body. Muscles are important for keeping your bones strong and helping control your blood sugar.
When people lose too much muscle, they may become weaker, more tired, and more likely to get hurt. It can also make it harder to keep a healthy blood sugar level.
This new study, presented at a major medical meeting in San Francisco, looked at 40 adults who had obesity. Some were given semaglutide, and others followed a healthy diet and lifestyle plan instead. Both groups lost weight. But about 40% of the weight they lost came from muscle—not just fat.
The people taking semaglutide lost more weight than the others. But within that group, certain people lost more muscle than others. Older adults, women, and people who ate less protein had higher muscle loss.
These same people also didn’t get as much benefit in their blood sugar levels. The researchers used a blood test called HbA1c to measure this.
This is important because semaglutide is supposed to help not just with weight loss, but also with managing diabetes. If it lowers muscle too much, it may also reduce the benefits for blood sugar control.
Dr. Melanie Haines, who led the study, said that eating more protein might be a good way to keep muscles strong while taking semaglutide. She believes it can help people get the best results from the drug without losing too much muscle.
She also says more research is needed. Scientists want to find the best ways to help people lose fat but keep their muscles when taking drugs like semaglutide. This is especially important for women and older adults, who seem to be at greater risk of muscle loss.
If you care about weight loss, please read studies that hop extract could reduce belly fat in overweight people, and early time-restricted eating could help lose weight .
For more health information, please see recent studies about a simple path to weight loss, and results showing a non-invasive treatment for obesity and diabetes.
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