ArticleCell reports. Medicine2026
Weight loss with GLP-1 medicines does not result in a disproportionate loss of muscle mass or function in obese mice and humans.
Article in Cell reports. Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It reports registered trial NCT05606471. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Anabolic Effects of GLP-1 Agonism to Prevent Lean Muscle Losses During Very-low Calorie Diets (VLCDs) for Weight Loss
Open the trial in the graphWho cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Body Composition and Lifestyle Interventions in Pharmacological Treatment of Acquired Hypothalamic Obesity: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2026Pooled it
- Exercise, Nutrition and GLP-1 Medicines to Improve Body Weight and Muscle Function in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction.Current heart failure reports · 2026Review
- Effect of GLP-1 receptor agonist on nutrient intake: A narrative review.Nutrition in clinical practice : official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition · 2026Review
- Article
- Why Do We Lose Bone During Weight Loss: Can It Be Prevented?Current osteoporosis reports · 2026Review
- The hallmarks of skeletal muscle health.Nature metabolism · 2026Review
- Article
- Beyond Fat Loss: Addressing the Sarcopenia Challenge of Incretin-Based Therapies.Diabetes & metabolism journal · 2026Review
- The evolving landscape of obesity pharmacotherapy.Nature reviews. Drug discovery · 2026Review
- The GLP-1-Mitochondria Axis in Metabolic Aging.Aging cell · 2026Review
- Negative effects of semaglutide on bone in obese mice.Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Article
- Causes of sarcopenia and frailty in people taking GLP1RAs.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Article
- Weight maintenance after discontinuation of GLP-1 therapies.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Review
- Lean Mass and Musculoskeletal Preservation in GLP-1-Based Obesity Treatment: Nutrition, Exercise, Supplementation, and Monitoring Strategies.Metabolites · 2026Review
- Designed Minibinders Rewire Receptor Signaling to Enable Functional Human Myogenic Reprogramming.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Glucagon-like peptide-1 and peptide YY multi-agonism with GEP44 to optimize weight loss and glycemic control while reducing gastrointestinal side effects: the future of anti-obesity pharmacotherapy?Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
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22 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The large decrease in body weight with glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medicines raises concern about a loss of lean body mass (LBM) and skeletal muscle. In this work, we present four pre-clinical studies and a proof-of-concept clinical trial that address this issue. We report that in obese mice, GLP-1 medicines predominantly reduce body fat alongside a small but significant decrease in LBM. Among lean tissues, loss of liver mass exceeds change in muscle mass. While absolute muscle mass and strength decrease, relative muscle mass and strength improve, resulting in better running performance. Interestingly, while atrophy is similar during immobilization, GLP-1 medicines have a distinct effect on the muscle proteome compared to calorie restriction. Patients with obesity on GLP-1 medicines improve their body composition without negatively affecting strength. Overall, in middle-aged mice and men, GLP-1 medicines slightly decrease absolute muscle values but positively impact body composition and mobility. The clinical trial is registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05606471).
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