Research

Hormonal

GLP-1 agonists (Liraglutide and Semaglutide) are promising interventions for reducing antipsychotic-induced weight gain, with Semaglutide showing superior efficacy to Liraglutide in general obesity populations, though evidence in SMI is still emerging.

GLP-1 medications like Liraglutide and Semaglutide show strong promise for counteracting weight gain from antipsychotics. Liraglutide has shown significant weight loss in SMI patients, and Semaglutide appears even more effective in general obesity studies. However, these require injections, which can be difficult for some patients, and more large-scale studies are needed to confirm long-term safety and efficacy in this specific group.

ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Liraglutide significantly reduced bodyweight compared to placebo (-5.3 kg)... Semaglutide was even more effective than liraglutide in reducing weight (-15.8% vs. -6.4%).
Nini de Boer et al. · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · 2022

Why this rating

Strong data in general obesity, but limited and smaller sample sizes in SMI trials (n=103 and n=47).

Source

Antipsychotic‐induced weight gain: Is the weight over? New guidelines needed

Nini de Boer et al. · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · 2022

DOI 10.1111/acps.13485

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

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