GLP‑1 users: lift to keep muscle

These drugs help people eat less and lose weight, but some of that weight can come from muscle as well as fat. Doctors and new conference data this weekend said lifting weights or doing other resistance exercise can help protect that muscle. (indianexpress.com) (healio.com) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) Glucagon-like peptide 1 drugs work in part by slowing stomach emptying and reducing appetite, which lowers calorie intake. When calorie intake drops, the body can also shed lean tissue unless muscles keep getting a “use it” signal from resistance work and enough protein. (indianexpress.com) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 1) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 2) At the Obesity Medicine Association meeting in San Diego, held April 10-12, 2026, Scripps Health physician Mitch Biermann presented data showing patients kept losing weight even after some were moved from weekly dosing to every-other-week dosing. Healio reported the group also maintained gains in mean arterial pressure, hemoglobin A1c, and triglycerides. (obesitymedicine.org) (healio.com) That meeting result was about dosing, not exercise, but it landed amid a wider push by obesity clinicians to focus on body composition, not just the number on the scale. Reviews published in 2025 and 2026 say structured exercise, especially strength training, can reduce the risk of losing muscle and bone during treatment. (healio.com) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 1) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 2) The distinction matters because muscle is what helps people climb stairs, get out of chairs, and stay steady when they move. The Indian Express piece cited current clinical advice to pair these medicines with resistance exercise and adequate protein intake to reduce lean-mass loss and preserve day-to-day stability. (indianexpress.com) Longer-term data suggest the picture is more nuanced than early fears that these drugs simply “waste” muscle. A JAMA Network Open study published in January 2026 found glucagon-like peptide 1 treatment was linked to substantial fat-mass loss, modest fat-free-mass loss, and an improved fat-free-mass-to-fat-mass ratio over 24 months. (jamanetwork.com) Drug options are also expanding. In early 2026, the Food and Drug Administration approved oral semaglutide for chronic weight management, and the New England Journal of Medicine published phase 3 data showing the 25-milligram daily pill reduced body weight more than placebo in adults with overweight or obesity. (nejm.org) (appliedclinicaltrialsonline.com) That means more people may start treatment with a pill instead of a weekly injection, but the basic advice does not change: preserve muscle while the fat comes off. In practice, that shifts attention from “how much weight” to how much strength, balance, and function a patient keeps along the way. (indianexpress.com) (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) (jamanetwork.com)