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Not Everyone Loses Weight on Ozempic

For many patients, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy lead to substantial weight loss. But some see much less benefit, and researchers are trying to figure out why.

While many people do remarkably well on them, a subset lose little to no weight on new GLP-1 drugs—so-called because they mimic a naturally occurring hormone in the body called GLP-1 that’s involved in regulating blood sugar, appetite, and digestion. When they looked at genetic data from more than 4,500 adults, they found that people with certain variants in this gene have lower blood sugar levels while taking GLP-1 drugs. For some GLP-1 nonresponders, it could be that another mechanism is involved in their obesity, says Rehka Kumar, an endocrinologist and chief medical officer of Found, a company that provides personalized weight loss plans.

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