The Increased Importance of Exercise with Weight Loss Medication

For decades, traditional wisdom has believed that in order to lose weight, you have to eat less and move more. Of course, that’s easier said than done. That’s why drugs like Wegovy are so innovative. By suppressing appetite, they help to tackle the first part of the equation, which usually leads to dramatic weight loss. But what about the second one? If weight loss pills are reducing the number of scales, should we still head to the gym? And how do these drugs affect our athletic ability?

What has become clear is that it may be even more important for those taking these medications than those who don’t. The ability of semaglutide to induce rapid weight loss (see “How do they work?” below) also leads to a significant decrease in muscle mass. For example, a 2021 study of 95 people who were overweight or obese taking semaglutide found that their lean body mass was reduced by almost 10% on average, 68 weeks later.

Lean body weight covers body tissues such as muscles and bones. Therefore, these results suggest that both are affected when taking weight loss medications, Signee Sørensen Torekov at the University of Copenhagen explains. These drugs guide people to burn fewer calories, so the body needs to break down fat, muscle, and even bones for nutrients.

“Our understanding is that up to about 40% of the overall weight loss seen in semaglutide is thought to be due to the loss of muscle mass,” he said.