Research

Hormonal

Treatment with extended-release naltrexone/bupropion (NB) produces weight loss that is disproportionately derived from fat mass rather than lean mass compared to placebo, resulting in a favorable shift in the lean-to-fat mass ratio.

If you are using naltrexone/bupropion for weight loss, the medication helps you lose more fat and preserve more muscle than dieting alone. This is beneficial for long-term metabolic health. Ensure you are following a caloric deficit and staying active as instructed.

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The NB group experienced a significant -7.8% change of total mass (-12.9% change in fat mass and -4.1% in lean mass), compared with a -2.8% change of total mass (-4.8% change in fat mass and -1.4% in lean mass) in the placebo group. The adjusted changes in lean-to-fat mass ratio of 0.069 in the NB group and -0.056 in the placebo group were significantly different (p < 0.05).
Vanessa Tardio et al. · Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism · 2025

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial sub-study with statistical significance, but limited by small sample size (n=82) and lack of visceral fat data.

Source

Characterization of the effect of naltrexone/bupropion on body composition

Vanessa Tardio et al. · Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism · 2025

DOI 10.1111/dom.16235

rct · n=82Cited 4×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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