Nutrition Support During GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Therapy: Protecting Lean Mass While Intake Falls
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22302379Keywords:
GLP-1 receptor agonists, Lean mass, Body composition, Protein intake, Resistance trainingAbstract
Roughly a quarter of the weight lost on incretin-based therapy is lean mass, and that pooled figure conceals a range from about
15 to 60 per cent across trials. Registration data illustrate the spread: 45.2 per cent of weight lost was lean in one semaglutide
trial, 25.7 per cent in a tirzepatide trial and 43.4 per cent in a semaglutide substudy, in which lean mass as a proportion of lean
plus fat nevertheless increased. Absolute loss and worsening composition are therefore not the same measurement. Function is
measured less often and points the other way: in one cohort handgrip strength rose by 4.5 kg at twelve months and sarcopenic
obesity fell from 49 to 33 per cent. Analysis of 670,422 users identified a depletive pattern, above 20 per cent weight loss with
above 5 per cent lean loss, in 10.3 per cent on tirzepatide against 6.7 per cent on semaglutide.
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