GLP Inhibitors and Muscle: What PTs Need to Know

GLP Inhibitor use is on the rise, which is great for patients but not so great for physical therapists burdened with questions. One of the biggest concerns right now with GLP inhibitor use is the loss of fat free muscle mass, usually in the form of muscle mass. This is an obvious concern to the PTs and exercise science community in general. Should we be concerned? Listen to our most recent video here or check out the transcript below:

0:00) Good afternoon, Dr. Wells here today to talk to you about a new article, really a commentary, (0:05) in this month's JAMA by Conte, Hall, and Klein. It was really a study or commentary on the new (0:13) GLP inhibitors, Ozempic and Wigovi. They're very popular right now for weight loss, and probably (0:18) one of the biggest concerns that a lot of people are talking about is that people lose fat-free (0:23) mass while taking these drugs.

Well, no surprise, the authors found that individuals that are obese (0:29) actually have larger amounts of skeletal muscle mass than those that are thin, and when they take (0:35) drugs such as Ozempic, Wigovi, these GLP inhibitors, they will actually lose some of (0:40) that skeletal muscle mass as part of the weight loss, and that's normal. In fact, during any (0:45) normal weight loss, individuals will lose some percentage of skeletal muscle mass, and a lot of (0:51) the studies that have analyzed this have found that the amount of skeletal muscle mass that is (0:55) lost is the same whether they're on Ozempic or on a calorie-restricted diet. So there's no new (0:59) surprises here, and this is something that was also similarly talked about on the podcast called (1:05) Science Versus.

If you'd like, go check that out, but check out the article, and check out our (1:10) courses, and have a great day.

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