Research

Hormonal

Pre-pregnancy use of GLP-1 receptor agonists (e.g., liraglutide) or GLP-1/GIP co-agonists (e.g., tirzepatide) is a promising pharmacotherapeutic strategy for pre-pregnancy weight loss in obese women, potentially mitigating the intergenerational risk of MAFLD in offspring, provided sufficient wash-out periods are observed.

If lifestyle changes aren't enough to help you reach a healthy weight before pregnancy, talk to your doctor about GLP-1 medications. They are effective for weight loss and may improve your future child's liver health. Crucially, you must stop these medications well before trying to conceive to ensure they are out of your system.

ModerateConditionalMEDIUM confidence
GLP-1 receptor agonists and GLP-1/GIP co-agonists are promising weight loss agents that could be valuable for pre-conception weight reduction to improve fertility and pregnancy outcomes and extend these benefits to the health of their offspring.
Amanda R. Purcell et al. · Nutrients · 2023

Why this rating

Supported by clinical trials for weight loss (LEAN, SURMOUNT-1) and animal models for fertility, but direct evidence for offspring MAFLD prevention via these drugs is explicitly stated as 'largely unknown'.

Source

Maternal Weight Management to Prevent the Developmental Programming of MAFLD in Offspring of Obese Mothers

Amanda R. Purcell et al. · Nutrients · 2023

DOI 10.3390/nu15092155

narrative_reviewCited 6×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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