Hormonal
Female sex is significantly associated with a hyper-response (>15% total body weight loss) to subcutaneous GLP-1 analogue therapy compared to non-response, whereas male sex is not.
If you are a woman taking a GLP-1 medication like semaglutide or liraglutide for obesity, you are statistically more likely to achieve significant weight loss (hyper-response) than a man taking the same medication. This is likely due to physiological differences in how your body processes the drug and regulates appetite hormones. Men may need higher doses to achieve similar results. If you are not losing weight, discuss dose adjustment or alternative treatments with your doctor rather than stopping abruptly.
In the multivariable regression analysis, being a woman was associated with hyper- response (adjusted OR 1.92, CI 1.01 to 3.65, p=0.048).
Why this rating
Large sample size (n=483) and real-world setting, but retrospective design and broad confidence intervals limit precision.
Source
Factors associated with weight loss response to GLP-1 analogues for obesity treatment: a retrospective cohort analysis
P. G. Squire et al. · BMJ Open · 2025
DOI 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089477
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