Diabetes drug may be effective for weight-loss

Treatment with one class of diabetes drugs, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists, helped obese and overweight patients with and without type 2 diabetes lose weight, data indicates.

All patients who were administered GLP-1 agonists that were included in a review and metanalysis achieved an average 6.4 lbs greater weight loss than patients on placebo or other diabetes drugs, Tina Vilsb?ll, MD, of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and colleagues reported online in BMJ.

"Our results suggest that treatment with GLP-1 agonists is an effective intervention for participants who are overweight, irrespective of whether they have diabetes," the researchers wrote.