Research

Hormonal

Liraglutide-induced weight loss is significantly attenuated in individuals consuming high-carbohydrate diets when hepatic FGF21 signaling is absent, indicating that FGF21 mediates the appetite-suppressing effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists specifically in the context of high carbohydrate intake.

If you are using a GLP-1 receptor agonist like liraglutide, your weight loss results may be suboptimal if you consume a high-carbohydrate diet. This is because the drug relies on a hormone called FGF21 to help suppress appetite, and this hormone is most effective at reducing food intake when carbohydrates are present. To maximize weight loss, consider reducing your carbohydrate intake, as this may enhance the drug's ability to engage the FGF21 pathway and promote greater weight reduction.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Liraglutide-induced weight loss was impaired in LivFgf21(−/−) mice when fed HC and HFHS diets but not when fed a LC diet.
Thao D. V. Le et al. · Molecular Metabolism · 2023

Why this rating

High-quality preclinical evidence using multiple knockout models and metabolic chambers, though results are specific to male mice.

Source

Fibroblast growth factor-21 is required for weight loss induced by the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide in male mice fed high carbohydrate diets

Thao D. V. Le et al. · Molecular Metabolism · 2023

DOI 10.1016/j.molmet.2023.101718

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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