The claimEvidence A · guideline-tier
GLP-1 is a miracle weight-loss shot for everyone
The evidence
It is meant for people with a BMI (body mass index) of 30 or more, or 27 or more with a related health condition (the STEP-1 trial). Within a year of stopping, about two-thirds of the lost weight comes back (STEP-4).
The mechanism, in brief
Type 2 diabetes is not simply eating too much sugar. It is the body becoming less and less responsive to insulin, the key that brings blood glucose down.
Sources (2)
- American Diabetes Association. (2024). Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes — 2024. Diabetes Care, 47(Suppl. 1).
- Wang, L., Gao, P., Zhang, M., Huang, Z., Zhang, D., Deng, Q., et al. (2017). Prevalence and ethnic pattern of diabetes and prediabetes in China in 2013. JAMA, 317(24), 2515-2523. Nationally representative cross-sectional survey of 170,287 adults in mainland China in 2013, ADA 2010 criteria: standardized prevalence of total diabetes 10.9% (10.4-11.5), diagnosed diabetes 4.0%, prediabetes 35.7% (34.1-37.4). Of people with diabetes, 36.5% were aware, 32.2% treated, and 49.2% of the treated had HbA1c < 7.0%. Full text: about 388.1 million adults had prediabetes in 2013, vs a projected 493.4 million (50.1%) from the 2010 survey; total diabetes by age was 5.9% under 40, 12.9% at 40-59 and 20.2% at 60 or older (Table). No cost figures (abstract, PMID 28655017; full text, PMC5815077).