Research

Hormonal

Combining GLP-1 receptor agonists (specifically liraglutide) with bariatric surgery (BS) or endoscopic bariatric therapy (EBT) significantly enhances weight loss and metabolic improvements compared to BS or EBT alone, particularly in patients experiencing weight regain or insufficient loss.

If you have had bariatric surgery or an endoscopic procedure but are regaining weight or hitting a plateau, adding a GLP-1 receptor agonist like liraglutide (titrated to 3mg daily) can significantly boost weight loss and metabolic health compared to the procedure alone. This is particularly effective for those who have regained weight after surgery. Expect potential gastrointestinal side effects like nausea, which often subside with dose titration. This approach is not a replacement for lifestyle changes but a powerful adjunct to them.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Adding liraglutide to EBT or BS provided significant weight loss when compared with EBT or BS alone. When changes in weight were compared across the studies, EBT with liraglutide showed a weight loss effect comparable to the net weight loss (ie, nadir weight loss after BS-regained weight) achieved following BS alone.
Ahmad Imam et al. · Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2023

Why this rating

The review includes 11 studies (3 RCTs, 8 retrospective), but notes significant heterogeneity in study design, doses, and outcome measures, limiting the strength of a pooled conclusion.

Source

Weight Loss Effect of GLP-1 RAs With Endoscopic Bariatric Therapy and Bariatric Surgeries

Ahmad Imam et al. · Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2023

DOI 10.1210/jendso/bvad129

systematic_review · n=914Cited 18×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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